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MISS  RAVENEL'S  COxWERSION 


SECESSIOiN   TO   LOYALTY. 


By   J.  W.  DE   FOREST, 

ArTHOR  OF  "EUROPEAN  ACQUAIXTAN'CE,"  "SEACLIFF," 
ETC.,  ETC. 


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l!sew  York. 


CONTENTS. 


CHAPTKB  PAGE 

I.  Mr.  Edward  Colbuvne  becomes  acquainted  with  Miss  Lillie 

Ravenel 7 

II.  Miss  Eavenel  becomes  acquainted  with  Lieutenant  Colonel 

Carter 19 

III.  Mr.  Colburne  takes  a  Segar  with  Lieutenant  Colonel  Carter    31 

IV.  The  Dramatic  Personages  go  on  a  Picnic,  and  study  the 

Ways  of  New  Boston 44 

V.  The  Dramatic  Pei'sonages  get  News  from  Bull  Eun 59 

YI.  Mr.  Colburne  sees  his  Way  clear  to  be  a  Soldier 71 

VII.   Captain  Colburne  raises  a  Company,  and  Colonel  Carter  a 

Regiment 84 

VIIL  The  Brave  bid  "  Good-by"  to  the  Fair 99 

IX.  Prom  New  Boston  to  New  Orleans,  via  Port  Jackson 112 

X.  The  Eavenels  find  Captain  Colburne  in  good  Quarters....   125 

XI.  New  Orleans  Life  and  New  Orleans  Ladies 142 

XII.  Colonel  Carter  befriends  the  Eavenels 159 

XIII.  The  Course  of  True  Love  begins  to  run  rough 175 

XIV.  Lillie  chooses  for  herself 191 

XV.  Lillie  bids  "Good-by"  to  the  Lover  whom  she  has  chosen 

and  to  the  Lover  whom  she  would  not  choose 203 

XVI.   Colonel  Carter,  gains  one  Victory  and  Miss  Eavenel  an- 
other   218 

XVII.   Colonel  Carter  is  entirely  victorious  before  he  begins  his 

Campaign 232 

XVIII.  Doctor  Eavenel  commences  the  Eeorganization  of  South- 
ern Labor 247 

XIX.  The  Eeorganization  of  Southern  Labor  is  continued  with 

Visor 261 


IV 


Contexts. 


CHAPTEE  PAGE 

XX.  Captain  Colburne  marches  and  figlits  with  Credit 275 

XXI.   Captain  Colburne  lias  Occas-ion  to  sec  Life  in  a  llos- 

jiital 289 

XXII.   Captain  Colburne  re-enforces  the  Ravcnels  in  Time  to 

aid  them  in  running  away 303 

XXIII.  Captain  Colburne  covers  the  Retreat  of  the  Southern 

Labor  Organization 319 

XXIV.  A  desperate  Attack  and  a  successful  Defense 333 

XXV.  Domestic  Happiness  in  spite  of  adverse  Circumstances..  34G 

XXVI.   Captain  Colburne  describes  Camp  and  Field  Life 3G0 

XXVII.   Colonel  Carter  makes  an  Astronomical  Expedition  with 

a  dangerous  Fellow-traveler 371 

XXVIII.  The  Colonel  continues  to  be  led  into  Temptation 385 

XXIX.  Lillie  reaches  the  Apotheosis  of  Womanhood 401 

XXX.  Colonel  Carter  commits  his  first  ungentlemanly  Action  iH 

XXXI.  A  Torture  which  might  have  been  spared 427 

XXXII.  A  most  logical  Conclusion 440 

XXXIII.  Lillie  devotes  herself  entirely  to  the  Rising  Generation..  459 

XXXIV,  Lillie's  Attention  is  recalled  to  the  Risen  Generation....  473 
XXXV.   Captain  Colburne  as  Mr.  Colburne 489 

XXXVL  A  Brace  of  Offers 503 

XXXVII.  A  Marriage 517 


MISS  RAVENEL'S   CONVERSION. 


CHAPTER  I. 

MK.    EDWAED  COLBURXE   BECOMES    ACQUAINTED   WITH    MISS 
LILLIE  EAYEXEL. 

It  was  shortly  after  the  capitulation  of  loyal  Fort  Siun- 
ter  to  rebellioils  South  Carolina  that  Mr.  Edward  Col- 
burne  of  New  Boston  made  the  acquaintance  of  Miss  Lillie 
Ravenel  of  Xew  Orleans. 

An  obscure  American  author  remarks  in  one  of  his  re- 
jected articles,  (which  he  had  the  kindness  to  read  to  me 
from  the  manuscript)  that  every  great  historical  event  re- 
verberates in  a  very  remarkable  manner  through  the  for- 
tunes of  a  multitude  of  private  and  even  secluded  individ- 
uals. Xo  volcanic  eruption  rends  a  mountain  without 
stirring  the  existence  of  the  mountain's  mice.  It  was  un- 
questionably the  southern  rebellion  which  brought  Miss 
Ravenel  and  Mr.  Colbume  into  interesting  juxtaposition. 
But  for  this  gigantic  political  upturning  it  is  probable 
that  the  young  lady  would  never  gave  visited  ISTew  Bos- 
ton where  the  young  gentleman  then  lived,  or,  visiting 
it  and  meeting  him  there,  would  have  been  a  person  of  no 
necessary  importance  in  his  eyes.  But  how  could  a  most 
loyal,  warm-hearted  youth  fail  to  be  interested  in  a  pretty 
and  intelligent  girl  who  was  exiled  from  her  home  because 
her  father  would  not  be  a  rebel  ? 

Xew  Boston,  by  the  way,  is  the  capital  city  of  the  little 
Yankee  State  of  Barataria.     I  ask  pardon  for  this  geogra- 


8  Miss    Rayexel's     Conversion 

phical  impertinence  of  introducing  a  seventh  State  into 
New  England,  and  solemnly  affirm  that  I  do  not  mean  to 
disturb  thereby  the  congressional  balance  of  the  repul)lic. 
I  make  the  arrangement  with  no  political  object,  but  solely 
for  my  private  convenience,  so  that  I  may  tell  my  story 
freely  without  being  accused  of  misrepresenting  this  pri- 
vate individual,  or  insulting  that  j^ublic  functionary,  or 
burlesquing  any  self-satisfied  community.  Like  Sancho 
Panza's  famous  island  of  the  same  name,  Barataria  was 
surrounded  by  land,  at  least  to  a  much  greater  extent  than 
most  islands. 

It  was  through  Ravenel  the  father  that  Colburne  made 
the  acquaintance  of  Miss  Ravenel.  In  those  days,  not  yet 
a  soldier,  but  only  a  martially  disposed  young  lawyer  and 
wrathful  patriot,  he  used  to  visit  the  New  Boston  House 
nearly  every  evening,  running  over  all  the*  journals  in  the 
reading-room,  devouring  the  telegraphic  reports  that  were 
brought  up  hot  from  the  newspaper  offices,  and  discussing 
the  great  political  events  of  the  time  with  the  heroes  and 
sages  of  the  city.  One  evening  he  found  nobody  in  the 
reading-room  but  a  stranger,  a  tall  gentleman  of  about 
fifty,  with  a  baldish  head  and  a  slight  stoop  in  the  should- 
ers, attired  in  an  English  moming-suit  of  modest  snuff- 
color.  He  was  reading  the  Xew  York  Evening  Post 
through  a  rather  dandified  eyeglass.  Presently  he  put  the 
eyeglass  in  his  vest  pocket,  produced  a  pair  of  steel-bowed 
spectacles,  slipped  them  on  his  nose  and  resumed  his  read- 
ing with  an  air  of  increased  facility  and  satisfaction.  He 
was  thus  engaged,  and  Colburne  was  waiting  for  the  Post, 
ragmg  meanwhile  over  that  copperhead  sheet,  The  New 
Boston  Index,  when  there  was  a  jDleasant  rustle  of  female 
attire  in  the  hall  which  led  by  the  reading-room. 

"  Papa,  put  on  your  eyeglass,"  said  a  silver  voice  which 
Colburne  liked.  "  Do  take  off  those  horrid  spectacles. 
They  make  you  look  as  old  as  Ararat." 

"  3Iy  dear,  the  eyeglass  makes  me  feel  as  old  as  you 
say,"  responded  papa. 


Fr.  OM     Secession    to     Loyaltt.  9 

"  Well,  stop  reading  then  and  come  up  stall's,"  was  the 
young  person's  next  command.  "  I've  had  such  an  awful 
afternoon  with  those  pokey  people.  I  want  to  tell 
you- 


Here  she  caught  sight  of  Colburne  regarding  her  fixedly 
in  the  mirror,  and  with  another  rustle  of  vesture  she  sud- 
denly slid  beyond  reach  of  the  angle  of  incidence  and  re- 
fraction. 

The  stranger  laid  down  the  Post  in  his  lap,  pocketed 
his  spectacles,  and,  looking  about  him,  caught  sight  of 
Colburne. 

"  I  beg  your  pardon,  sir,"  said  he  with  a  frank,  friendly, 
man  of  the  world  sort  of  smile.  "  I  have  kept  the  evening 
paper  a  long  time.     Will  you  have  it  ?" 

To  our  young  gentleman  the  civility  of  this  well-bred, 
middle-aged  personage  was  somewhat  imposing,  and  con- 
sequently he  made  his  best  bow  and  would  not  accept  of 
the  Post  until  positively  assured  that  the  other  had  entire- 
ly done  with  it.  Moreover  he  would  not  commence  read- 
ing immediately  because  that  might  seem  like  a  tacit  re- 
proach ;  so  he  uttered  a  few  patriotic  common-places  on 
the  news  of  the  day,  and  thereby  gave  occasion  for  this 
history. 

"  Yes,  a  sad  struggle,  a  sad  struggle— especially  for  the 
South,'^  assented  the  imnamed  gentleman.  "  You  can't 
imagine  how  unprepared  they  are  for  it.  The  South  is 
just  like  the  town's  poor  rebelling  against  the  authorities  ; 
the  more  successful  they  are,  the  more  sure  to  be  ruined." 

While  he  spoke  he  looked  in  the  young  and  strange  face 
of  his  hearer  with  as  much  seeming  earnestness  as  if  the 
latter  had  been  an  old  acquaintance  whose  opinions  were 
of  value  to  him.  There  was  an  amiable  fascination  in  the 
sympathetic  grey  eyes  and  the  persuasive  smile.  He 
ckught  Colburne's  expression  of  interest  and  proceeded. 

"  Xobody  can  tell  me  anything  about  those  unlucky, 
misguided  people.  I  am  one  of  them  by  birth — I  have 
lived  among  them  nearly  all  my  life — I  know  them.  They 

A  2 


10  Miss    R  a  vex  el's     Conversion 

are  as  ill-informed  as  Hottentots.  They  have  no  more  idea 
of  their  relative  strength  as  compared  to  that  of  the  Unit- 
ed States  than  the  Root-diggers  of  the  Rocky  Mountains. 
They  are  doomed  to  perish  by  their  own  ignorance  and 
madness." 

"  It  will  probably  be  a  short  struggle,"  said  Colbume, 
speaking  the  common  belief  of  the  North. 

"  I  don't  know — I  don't  know  about  that ;  we  mustn't 
be  too  sure  of  that.  You  must  understand  that  they  are 
barbarians,  and  that  all  barbarians  are  obstinate  and  reck- 
less. They  will  hold  out  like  the  Florida  Seminoles. 
They  will  resist  like  jackasses  and  heroes.  They  won't 
know  any  better.  They  will  be  an  honor  to  the  fortitude 
and  a  sarcasm  on  the  intelligence  of  human  nature.  They 
will  become  an  example  in  history  of  much  that  is  great, 
and  all  that  is  foolish." 

"  May  I  ask  what  part  of  the  South  you  have  resided 
in  ?"  inquired  Colburne. 

"  I  am  a  South  Carolinian  born.  But  I  have  lived  in 
Xew  Orleans  for  the  last  twenty  years,  summers  excepted. 
A  man  can't  well  live  there  the  year  round.  He  must  be 
away  occasionally,  to  clear  his  system  of  its  malaria  phys- 
ical and  moral.  It  is  a  Sodom.  I  consider  it  a  proof  of 
depravity  in  any  one  to  Avant  to  go  there.  But  there  was 
my  work,  and  there  I  staid — as  little  as  possible.  •!  staid 
till  this  stupid,  barbarous  Ashantee  rebellion  drove  me  out." 

"  I  am  afraid  you  will  be  an  exile  for  some  time,  sir," 
observed  Colburne,  after  a  short  silence  during  which  he 
regarded  the  exiled  stranger  with  patriotic  sympathy. 

"  I  am  afraid  so,"  was  the  answer,  uttered  in  a  tone 
which  implied  serious  reflection  if  not  sadness. 

He  remembers  the  lost  home,  the  sacrificed  wealth,  the 
undeserved  hostility,  the  sentence  of  outlawry  which 
should  have  been  a  meed  of  honor,  thought  the  enthusias- 
tic young  patriot.  The  voice  of  welcome  ought  to  greet 
him,  the  hand  of  friendship  ought  to  aid  him,  here  among 
loval  men. 


Feo3i     Secessiox    to     Loyalty,  11 

"  I  hope  you  stay  some  time  in  New  Boston,  sir,"  he 
observed  aloud.  "  If  I  can  he  of  the  slightest  benefit  to 
you,  I  shall  be  most  happy.  Allow  me  to  offer  you  my 
card,  sir." 

"  Oh  !  Thank  you.  You  are  extremely  kind,"  said  the 
stranger.  He  bowed  very  politely  and  smiled  very  cor- 
dially as  he  took  the  bit  of  pasteboard ;  but  at  the  same 
time  there  was  a  slight  fixity  of  surprise  in  his  eye  which 
made  the  sensitive  Colburne  color.  He  read  the  name  on 
the  card ;  then,  with  a  start  as  of  reminiscence,  glanced  at 
it  again  ;  then  leaned  forward  and  peered  into  the  young 
man's  face  with  an  air  of  eager  curiosity. 

"  Are  you — is  it  possible  ! — are  you  related  to  Doctor 
Edward  Colburne  of  this  place  who  died  fourteen  or  fifteen 
years  ago  ?" 

"  I  am  his  son,  sir." 

"  Is  it  possible  !  I  am  delighted  to  meet  you.  I  am 
most  sincerely  and  earnestly  gratified.  I  knew  your  father 
well.  I  had  particular  occasion  to  know  him  as  a  fellow 
beginner  in  mineralogy  at  a  time  when  the  science  was 
little  studied  in  this  country.  We  corresponded  and  ex- 
changed specimens.  My  name  is  Eavenel.  I  have  been 
for  twenty  years  professor  of  theory  and  practice  in  the 
Medical  College  of  Xew  Orleans.  An  excellent  place  for 
a  dissectmg  class,  by  the  way.  So  many  negroes  are 
whipped  to  death,  so  many  white  gentlemen  die  in  their 
boots,  as  the  saying  is,  that  we  rarely  lack  for  subjects. — 
But  you  must  have  been  quite  young  when  you  had  the 
misfortune — and  science  had  the  misfortune — to  lose  your 
father.  Really,  you  have  quite  his  look  about  the  eyes 
and  forehead.     What  profession  may  I  ask  ?" 

"Law,"  said  Colburne,  who 'was  flushed  with  pleasure 
over  the  acquisition  of  this  charming  acquaintance,  so  evi- 
dently to  him  a  man  of  the  world,  a  savant,  a  philosopher, 
and  a  patriotic  martyr. 

"Law — that  is  a  smatteiing  of  it — just  enough  to  have 
an  office  and  do  notary  work." 


12  Miss    Ravenel's     Coxveksiox 

"  A  good  profession  !  A  grand,  profession  !  But  I  should 
have  expected  your  fathers  son  to  be  a  physician  or  a  min- 
eralogist." 

He  took  off  his  spectacles  and  surveyed  Colbume's 
frank,  handsome  face  with  evidently  sincere  interest.  He 
seemed  as  much  occupied  with  this  young  stranger's  histo- 
ry and  prospects  as  he  had  been  a  moment  before  with  his 
own  beliefs  and  exile. 

At  this  stage  of  the  conversation  one  of  the  hotel  serv- 
ants entered  the  room  and  said,  "  Sir,  the  young  lady 
wishes  you  would  come  up  stairs,  if  you  please,  sir." 

"  Oh,  certainly,"  answered  the  stranger,  or,  as  I  may 
now  call  him,  the  Doctor.  "  Mr.  Colburne,  come  up  to  my 
room,  if  you  are  at  leisure.  I  shall  be  most  happy  to  have 
a  longer  conversation  with  you." 

Colburne  was  in  the  usual  quandaiy  of  young  and  mod- 
est men  on  such  occasions.  He  wished  to  accept  the  invit- 
ation ;  he  feared  that  he  ought  not  to  take  advantage  of  it ; 
he  did  not  know  how  to  decline  it.  After  a  lightning-like 
consideration  of  the  pros  and  cons^  after  a  stealthy  glance 
at  his  toilet  in  the  mirror,  he  showed  the  good  sense  and 
had  the  good  luck  to  follow  Doctor  Ravenel  to  his  private 
parlor.  As  they  entered,  the  same  silver  voice  which  Col- 
burne had  heard  below,  exclaimed,  "  Why  papa  !  What 
has  kept  you  so  long  ?  I  have  been  as  lonely  as  a  mouse 
in  a  trap." 

"Lillie,  let  me  introduce  Mr.  Colburne  to  you,"  an- 
swered papa.  "  My  dear  sir,  take  this  arm  chair.  It  is 
much  more  comfortable  than  those  awkward  mahogany 
uprights.  Don't  suppose  that  I  want  it.  I  prefer  the  sofa, 
I  really  do." 

Miss  Ravenel,  I  suppose  I  ought  to  state  in  this  exact 
place,  was  very  fau',  with  lively  blue  eyes  and  exceedingly 
handsome  hair,  very  luxuriant,  very  wavy  and  of  a  flossy 
blonde  color  lighted  up  by  flashes  of  amber.  She  Avas  tall 
and  rather  slender,  with  a  fine  form  and  an  uncommon 
Q^race  of  manner  and  movement.     Colburne  was  flattered 


Fkom     Secessio:n-    to     Loyalty.  13 

by  tlie  quick  "blush  and  pretty  momentary  flutter  of  embar- 
rassment with  which  she  received  him.  This  same  irre- 
pressible blush  and  flutter  often  interested  those  male  indi- 
viduals who  were  fortunate  enough  to  make  Miss  Eavenel's 
acquaintance.  Each  young  fellow  thought  that  she  was 
specially  interested  in  himself;  that  the  depths  of  her 
womanly  nature  were  stirred  into  pleasurable  excitement 
by  his  advent.  And  it  was  frequently  not  altogether  a 
mistake.  Miss  Ravenel  was  interested  in  people,  in  a  con- 
siderable number  of  people,  and  often  at  first  sight.  She 
had  her  father's  sympathetic  character,  as  well  as  his 
graceful  cordiahty  and  consequent  chann  of  manner,  the 
whole  made  more  fascinating  by  being  veiled  in  a  delicate 
gauze  of  womanly  dignity.  As  to  her  being  as  lovely  as  a 
houri,  I  confess  that  there  were  difierent  opinions  on  that 
question,  and  I  do  not  care  to  settle  it,  as  I  of  course 
might,  by  a  tyrannical  afiirmation. 

It  is  curious  how  resolutely  most  persons  demand  that 
the  heroine  of  a  story  shall  be  extraordinarily  handsome. 
And  yet  the  heroine  of  many  a  love  afiair  in  our  own  lives 
is  not  handsome  ;  and  most  of  us  fall  in  love,  quite  earnest- 
ly and  permanently  in  love  too,  with  rather  plain  women. 
Why  then  should  I  strain  my  conscience  by  asserting 
broadly  and  positively  that  Miss  Ravenel  was  a  first  class 
beauty  ?  But  I  do  affirm  Tvithout  hesitation  that,  like  her 
father,  she  was  socially  charming.  I  go  farther  :  she  was 
also  very  loveable  and  (I  beg  her  pardon)  very  capable  of 
loving  ;  although  up  to  this  time  she  did  not  feel  sure  that 
she  possessed  either  of  these  two  qualities. 

She  had  simply  bowed  with  a  welcoming  smile  and  that 
flattering  blush,  but  without  speaking  or  ofiering  her  hand, 
when  Colburne  was  presented.  I  suspect  that  she  waited 
for  her  father  to  give  her  a  key  to  the  nature  of  the  inter- 
view and  an  intimation  as  to  Avhether  she  should  join  in 
the  conversation.  She  was  quite  capable  of  such  small 
forethought,  and  Doctor  Ravenel  was  worthy  of  the  trust. 

"  Mr.  Colburne  is  the  son  of  Doctor  Colburne,  my  dear," 


14  Miss    Raven  el's     Conversion 

he  observed  as  soon  as  his  guest  was  seated.  "  You  have 
heard  me  speak  of  the  Doctor's  premature  and  lamented 
death.     I  think  myself  very  fortunate  in  meeting  his  son." 

"  You  are  very  kind  to  call  on  us,  Mr.  Colburne,"  said 
the  silver  voice  with  a  musical  accent  which  almost 
amounted  to  a  singsong.  "  I  hope  you  don't  hate  South- 
erners," she  added  with  a  smile  which  made  Colburne  feel 
for  a  moment  as  if  he  could  not  heartily  hate  Beauregard, 
then  the  representative  man  of  the  rebellion.  "  We  are 
from  Louisiana,  you  know." 

"  I  regret  to  hear  it,"  answered  Colburne. 

"  Oh,  don't  pity  us,"  she  laughed.  "  It  is  not  such  a  bad 
2:)lace." 

"  Please  don't  misunderstand  me.  I  meant  that  I  regret 
your  exile  from  your  home." 

"  Thank  you  for  that.  I  don't  know  whether  papa  will 
thank  you  or  not.  He  doesn't  appreciate  Louisiana.  I 
don't  believe  he  is  conscious  that  he  has  suffered  a  misfor- 
tune in  being  obliged  to  quit  it.  I  am.  Xew  Boston  is 
very  pretty,  and  the  people  are  very  nice.  But  you  know 
how  it  is  ;  it  is  bad  to  lose  one's  home." 

"  My  dear,  I  can't  helj^  laughing  at  your  grand  misfor- 
tune," said  the  Doctor.  "  We  are  something  like  the  He- 
brews when  they  lost  Pharaoh  king  of  Egypt,  or  like  peo- 
ple who  lose  a  sinking  wreck  by  getting  on  a  sound  vessel. 
Besides,  our  happy  home  turned  us  out  of  doors." 

The  Doctor  felt  that  he  had  a  right  to  abuse  his  own, 
especially  after  it  had  ill-treated  him. 

"  Were  you  absolutely  exiled,  sir  ?"  asked  Colburne. 

"  I  had  to  take  sides.  Those  unhappy  Chinese  allow  no 
neutrals — nothing  but  themselves,  the  central  flowery  peo- 
ple, and  outside  barbarians.  They  have  fed  on  the  poor 
blacks  until  they  can't  abide  a  man  who  isn't  a  cannibal. 
He  is  a  reproach  to  them,  and  they  must  make  away  with 
him.  They  remind  me  of  a  cracker  whom  I  met  at  a  cross 
road  tavern  in  one  of  my  journeys  through  the  north  of 
Georgia.     This  man,  a  red-nosed,  toba<jco-drizzling,  whis- 


Feo:m     Secessio:n-     to     Loyalty.  15 

key-jDerfumed  giant,  invited  me  to  drink  ^vitli  him,  and, 
when  I  declined,  got  furious  and  wanted  to  fight  me.  I 
told  him  that  I  never  drank  whiskey  and  that  it  made  me 
sick,  and  finally  succeeded  in  pacifying  him  without  touch- 
ing his  poison.  In  fact  he  made  me  a  kind  of  apology  for 
having  ofiered  to  cut  my  throat.  '  Wa'al,  fact  is,  stran- 
ger,' said  he,  '  J,'  (laying  an  accent  as  strong  as  his  liquor 
on  the  personal  pronoun)  '  /  use  whiskey.' — You  under- 
stand the  inference,  I  suppose  :  a  man  who  refused  whiskey 
was  a  contradiction,  a  reproach  to  his  j^ersonality  :  such  a 
man  he  could  not  sufier  to  live.  It  was  the  Brooks  and 
Sumner  affair  over  again.  Brooks  says,  '  Fact  is  J  believe 
in  slavery,'  and  immediately  hits  Sumner  over  the  head 
for  not  believing  in  it." 

"  Somethmg  like  my  grandfather,  who,  when  he  had  to 
diet,  used  to  want  the  whole  family  to  live  on  dry  toast," 
observed  Colburne.  "  For  the  time  being  he  believed  in 
the  universal  propriety  and  necessity  of  toast." 

"  Were  you  in  danger  of  violence  before  you  left  Xew 
Orleans  ?"  he  presently  asked.  "  I  beg  pardon  if  I  am  too 
curious." 

"  Violence  ?  Why,  not  precisely  ;  not  immediate  vio- 
lence. The  breakmg-oft'  point  was  this.  I  must  explain 
that  I  dabble  in  chemistry  as  well  as  mineralogy.  Now  in 
all  that  city  of  raw  materialism,  of  cotton-bale  and  sugar- 
hogshead  instinct — I  can't  call  it  intelligence — there  was 
not  a  man  of  southern  principles  who  knew  enough  of  che- 
mistry to  make  a  fuse.  They  wanted  to  possess  themselves 
of  the  United  States  forts  in  theu'  State.  They  supposed 
that  they  would  be  obliged  to  shell  them.  The  shells  they 
had  plundered  from  the  United  States  arsenal ;  but  the 
fuses  were  wanting.  A  military  committee  requested  me 
to  fabricate  them.  Of  course  I  was  driven  to  make  an  im- 
mediate choice  between  rebellion  and  loyalty.  I  took  the 
first  steamboat  to  New  York,  getting  off  just  in  time  to 
escape  the  system  of  surveillance  which  the  vigilance  com- 
mittees established." 


16  Miss    R  a  vex  el's     Coxyersion 

It  may  seem  odd  to  some  sensible  people  that  this  learn- 
ed gentleman  of  over  fifty  should  expose  his  own  history 
so  freely  to  a  young  fellow  whom  he  had  not  seen  imtil 
half  an  hour  before.  But  it  was  a  part  of  the  Doctor's 
character  to  suppose  that  humanity  took  an  interest  in  him 
just  as  he  took  an  interest  m  all  humanity  ;  and  liis  natu- 
ral frankness  had  been  increased  by  contact  with  the  pre- 
vailing communicativeness  of  his  open-hearted  fellow-citi- 
zens of  the  South.  I  dare  say  that  he  would  have  unfolded 
the  tale  of  his  exile  to  an  intelligent  stage-driver  by  whom 
he  might  have  chanced  to  sit,  with  as  little  hesitation  as 
he  poured  it  mto  the  ears  of  this  graduate  of  a  distin- 
guished university  and  representative  of  a  staid  puritanical 
aristocracy.  He  had  no  thought  of  claiming  admiration 
for  his  self-sacrificing  loyalty.  His  story  was  worth  tell- 
ing, not  because  it  was  connected  with  his  interests,  but 
because  it  had  to  do  with  his  sentiments  and  convictions. 
Why  should  he  not  relate  it  to  a  stranger  who  was  evi- 
dentl}'  capable  of  sympathising  with  those  sentiments  and 
appreciating  those  convictions  ? 

But  there  was  another  reason  for  the  Doctor's  frankness. 
At  that  time  every  circumstance  of  the  opening  civil  war, 
every  item  of  life  that  came  from  hostile  South  to  indig- 
nant Xorth,  was  regarded  by  all  as  a  species  of  public 
property.  If  you  put  down  your  name  on  a  hotel  register 
as  arrived  from  Charleston,  Savannah,  Mobile,  Xew  Or- 
leans, or  any  other  pomt  south  of  Mason  &  Dixon's  line, 
you  were  immediately  addressed  and  catechised.  Peoj^le 
wanted  to  know  how  you  escaped,  and  why  you  tried  to 
escape  ;  and  were  ready  to  accord  you  any  credit  you  de- 
manded for  perilous  adventures  and  patriotic  motives ; 
and  did  not  perceive  it  nor  think  a  bit  ill  of  you  if  you 
showed  yourself  somewhat  of  a  romancer  and  braggart. 
And  you,  on  the  other  hand,  did  not  object  to  telling  your 
story,  but  let  it  out  as  naturally  as  a  man  just  rescued 
from  drowning  opens  his  heart  to  the  sympathising  crowd 
wdiicTi  greets  him  on  the  river  bank. 


From  Secessiox  to  Loyalty.    17 

Kow  Miss  Ravenel  was  a  rebel.  Like  all  young  people 
and  almost  all  women  she  was  strictly  local,  narrowly 
geographical  in  her  feelings  and  opinions.  She  was  colored 
by  the  soil  in  which  she  had  germinated  and  been  nur- 
tured ;  and  during  that  year  no  flower  could  be  red,  white 
and  blue  in  Louisiana.  Accordingly  the  young  lady  lis- 
tened to  the  Doctor's  story  of  his  self-imposed  exile  and  to 
his  sarcasms  upon  the  people  of  her  native  city  with  cer- 
tam  i^retty  little  starts  and  sniiFs  of  disapprobation  which 
reminded  Colburne  of  the  counterfeit  spittings  of  a  kitten 
playing  anger.  She  could  not  under  any  j^i'o^'ocation 
quarrel  with  her  father,  but  she  could  perseveringly  and 
energetically  disagree  with  his  opinions.  When  he  had 
closed  his  tu-ade  and  history  she  broke  forth  in  a  defence 
of  her  darling  Dixie. 

"  Now,  papa,  you  are  too  bad.  Mr.  Colburne,  don't 
you  think  he  is  too  bad  ?  Just  see  here.  Louisiana  is  my 
native  State,  and  papa  has  lived  there  half  his  life.  He 
could  not  have  been  treated  more  kindly,  nor  have  been 
thought  more  of,  than  he  was  by  those  Ashantees,  as  he 
calls  them,  until  he  took  sides  agamst  them.  If  you  never 
lived  with  the  southerners  you  don't  know  how  pleasant 
they  are.  I  don't  mean  those  rough  creatures  from  Ark- 
ansas and  Texas,  nor  the  stupid  Acadians,  nor  the  poor 
white  trash.  There  are  low  people  everywhere.  But  I 
do  say  that  the  better  classes  of  Louisiana  and  ^lississipjn 
and  Georgia  and  South  Carolina  and  Virginia,  yes,  and  of 
Tennessee  and  Kentucky,  are  right  nice.  If  they  don't 
know  all  about  chemistry  and  mineralogy,  they  can  talk 
delightfully  to  ladies.  They  are  perfectly  charming  at  re- 
ceptions and  dinner  parties.  They  are  so  hospitable,  too, 
and  generous  and  courteous  !  Xow  I  call  that  ci^dlization. 
I  say  that  such  people  are  civilized." 

"  They  have  taught  you  Ashantee  English,  though," 
smiled  the  Doctor,  who  has  not  yet  fully  realized  the  fact 
that  his  daughter  has  become  a  young  lady,  and  ought  no 
longer  to  be  criticised  like  a  school  girl.     "  I   am   afraid 


18  Miss    R  a  vex  el's     Co  x  version 

Mr.     Colburne     won't     understand    what 
means." 

"  Oh,  yes  he  will.  Do  try  to  understand  it,  Mr.  Col- 
burne," answers  Miss  Ravenel,  coloring  to  her  temples  and 
fluttering  like  a  canary  whose  cage  has  been  shaken,  but 
still  smiling  good-naturedly.  Her  ftither's  satire,  delivered 
before  a  stranger,  touched  her,  but  could  not  irritate  a 
good  temper  softened  by  affection. 

"  I  must  be  allowed  to  use  those  Ashantee  phrases  once 
in  a  while,"  she  went  on.  "  We  learn  them  from  our  old 
mammas ;  that  is,  you  know,  our  nice  old  black  nurses. 
Well,  I  admit  that  the  mammas  are  not  grammarians.  I 
admit  that  Louisiana  is  not  perfect.  But  it  is  my  Louisi- 
ana. And,  i^apa,  it  ought  to  be  your  Louisiana.  I  think 
we  owe  fealty  to  our  State,  and  should  go  with  it  wherev- 
er it  goes.  Don't  you  believe  in  State  rights,  Mr.  Col- 
burne ?  Wouldn't  you  stand  by  Barataria  in  any  and  ev- 
ery case  ?" 

"  Xot  against  the  Union,  Miss  Ravenel,"  resj^onded  the 
young  man,  unshaken  in  his  loyalty  even  by  that  earnest 
look  and  winning  smile. 

"  Oh  dear  !  how  can  you  say  so  !"  exclaims  the  lovely 
advocate  of  secession.  "  I  thought  Xew  Englanders — all 
but  Massachusetts  people — would  agree  with  us.  Wasn't 
the  Hartford  Convention  held  in  New  England  ?" 

"  I  can't  help  admiring  your  knowledge  of  political  his- 
tory. But  the  Hartford  Convention  is  a  byeword  of  re- 
proach among  us  now.  We  should  as  soon  think  of  being 
governed  by  the  Blue  Laws." 

At  this  declaration  Miss  Ravenel  lost  hope  of  converting 
her  auditor.  She  dropped  back  in  her  corner  of  the  sofa, 
clasping  her  hands  and  pouting  her  lips  with  a  charming 
earnestness  of  mild  desperation. 

Well,  the  evenmg  passed  away  delightfully  to  the  young 
patriot,  although  it  grieved  his  soul  to  find  Miss  Ravenel 
such  a  traitor  to  the  republic.  It  was  nearly  twelve  when 
he  bade  the  strangers  good  night  and  apologized  for  stay- 


Fkom    vSecessiox    to     Loyalty.  19 

ing  so  late,  and  accepted  an  invitation  to  call  next  day, 
and  hoped  they  would  continue  to  live  in  l^ew  Boston. 
He  actually  trembled  with  pleasure  when  Lillie  at  partmg 
gave  him  her  hand  in  the  frank  southern  fashion.  And 
after  he  had  reached  his  cosy  bedroom  on  the  opposite  side 
of  the  public  square  he  had  to  smoke  a  segar  to  compose 
himself  to  sleep,-  and  succeeded  so  ill  in  his  attempt  to 
secure  speedy  slumber  that  he  heard  the  town  clock  ring 
out  one  and  then  two  of  the  morning  before  he  lost  his 
consciousness. 

"  Oh  dear  !  papa,  how  he  did  hang  on  !"  said  Miss  Rav- 
enel  as  soon  as  the  door  had  shut  behind  him. 

Certamly  it  was  late,  and  she  had  a  right  to  be  impa- 
tient with  the  visitor,  especially  as  he  was  a  Yankee  and 
an  abolitionist.  But  Miss  Ravenel,  like  most  young  ladies, 
was  a  bit  of  a  hypocrite  in  talking  of  young  men,  and  was 
not  so  very  ill  pleased  at  the  bottom  of  her  heart  with  the 
hanorino-  on  of  Mr.  Colburne. 


CHAPTER  n. 

:&nSS     EAVEXEL    BECOilES    ACQUAESTED    WITH   LIEUTENANT- . 
COLONEL    CAETEE. 

Me.  Colbuene  was  not  tardy  in  callmg  on  the  Ravenels 
nor  careless  in  improving  chances  of  encountering  them  by 
seemmg  accident.  His  modesty  made  him  afraid  of  being 
tiresome,  and  his  sensitiveness  of  being  ridiculous  ;  but 
neither  the  one  terror  nor  the  other  prevented  tiim  from  m- 
flictmg  a  good  deal  of  his  society  upon  the  interesting  ex- 
iles. Three  weeks  after  his  introduction  it  was  his  good 
fortune  to  be  invited  to  meet  them  at  a  dmner  party  given 
■  them  by  Professor  Whitewood  of  his  own  Alma  Mater,  the 
celebrated  Winslow  University. 

The  "Whitewood  house  was  of  an  architecture  so  com- 


20  Miss     R  a  ye  x  el's     Cox  version" 

men  ill  Xew  Boston  that  in  describing  it  I  run  no  risk  of 
identifying  it  to  the  curious.  Exteriorly  it  was  a. square 
box  of  brick,  stuccoed  to  rei:)resent  granite ;  interiorly  it 
consisted  of  four  rooms  on  each  floor,  divided  by  a  hall  up 
and  down  the  centre.  This  was  the  original  construction, 
to  which  had  been  added  a  greenhouse,  mto  which  you 
passed  through  the  parlor,  carefully  balanced  by  a  study 
into  which  you  passed  through  the  library.  Trim,  regu- 
lar, geometrical,  one  half  of  the  structure  weighing  to  an 
oimce  just  as  much  as  the  other  half,  and  the  whole  per- 
haps forming  some  exact  fraction  of  the  entire  avoirdupois 
of  the  globe,  the  very  furniture  distributed  at  measured 
distances,  it  was  precisely  such  a  building  as  the  Xew  Bos- 
ton soul  would  naturally  create  for  itself  Miss  Ravenel 
noticed  this  with  a  quickness  of  perception  as  to  the  rela- 
tions of  mind  and  matter  which,  astonished  and  amused 
Mr.  Colburne. 

"  If  I  should  be  transported  on  Aladdin's  carpet,"  she 
said,  "  fast  asleej),  to  some  unknown  country,  and  should 
wake  up  and  find  myself  in  such  a  house  as  this,  I  should 
know  that  I  T^as  in  Xew  Boston.  How  the  Professor  must 
enjoy  himself  here  !  This  room  is  exactly  twenty  feet  one 
way  by  twenty  feet  the  other.  Then  the  hall  is  just  ten 
feet  across  by  just  forty  in  length.  The  Professor  can  look 
at  it  and  say.  Four  times  ten  is  forty.  Then  the  green- 
house and  the  study  balance  each  other  like  the  paddle- 
boxes  of  a  steamer.     Why  will  you  all  be  so  square  ?" 

"  But  how  shall  we  become  triangular,  or  circular,  or 
star-shaped,  or  cruciform  ?"  asked  Colburne.  "  And  what 
would  be  the  good  of  it  if  we  should  get  mto  those  forms  ?" 

"  You  w8uld  be  so  much  more  picturesque.  I  should 
enjoy  myself  so  much  more  in  looking  at  you." 

"  I  am  so  sorry  you  don't  like  us." 

"  How  it  grieves  you  !"  laughed  the  young  lady.  A 
flush  of  rose  mounted  her  cheek  as  she  said  this;  but  I 
must  beg  the  reader  to  recollect  that  Miss  Ravenel  blushed 
at  anvthms:  and  nothinir. 


Feom    Secessiox    to     Loyalty.  21 

"  Xow  here  are  buildings  of  all  shapes  and  colors,"  she 
13roceeded,  turnmg  over  the  leaves  of  a  photographic  album 
which  contained  views  of  Venetian  architecture.  "  Don't 
you  see  that  these  were  not  built  by  Xew  Bostonians  ?" 

They  were  in  the  library,  whither  Miss  Whitewood  had 
conducted  them  to  exhibit  her  father's  jfine  collection  of 
photographs  and  engravings.  A  shy  but  hospitable  and 
thoughtful  maiden,  mcapable  of  striking  up  a  flirtation  of 
her  own,  and  with  not  a  selfish  matrimonial  m  her  head, 
but  still  quite  able  to  sympathise  with,  the  loves  of  others, 
jNIiss  Whitewood  had  seated  her  two  guests  at  their  art 
banquet,  and  then  had  gently  withdrawn  herself  from  the 
study  so  that  they  might  talk  of  what  they  chose  without 
restraint.  It  was  already  reported,  with  or  without  rea- 
son, that  Mr.  Colburne  was  interested  m  the  fascinating- 
young  exile  from  Louisiana,  and  that  she  was  not  so  indif- 
ferent to  him  as  she  evidently  was  to  most  of  the  New 
Boston  beaux.  This  was  the  reason  why  that  awkward 
but  good  Miss  Whitewood,  twenty-five  years  old  and 
without  a  suitor,  be  it  remembered,  had  brought  them  in- 
to the  quiet  of  the  study.  Meantime  the  door  was  wide 
open  into  the  hall,  and  exactly  opposite  to  it  was  another 
door  wide  open  into  the  parlor,  where,  in  full  view  of  the 
young  people,  sat  all  the  old  people,  meaning  thereby  Doc- 
tor Ravenel,  Professor  Whitewood,  Mrs.  Whitewood,  and 
her  prematurely  middle-aged  daughter.  The  three  'New 
Bostonians  were  listening  with  evident  delight  to  the  flu- 
ent and  zealous  Louisianian.  But,  instead  of  enter mg  up- 
on his  conversation,  wliich  consisted  chiefly  of  lively  satire 
and  declamation  directed  against  slavery  and  its  rebellious 
partizans,  let  us  revert  for  a  tiresome  moment  or  two, 
while  dinner  is  preparing  and  other  guests  are  arriving,  to 
the  subject  on  which  Miss  Ravenel  has  been  teasing  Mr. 
Colburne. 

New  Boston  is  not  a  lively  nor  a  sociable  place.  The 
principal  reason  for  this  is  that  it  is  inhabited  chiefly  by 
New  Englanders.     Puritanism,  the  prevailing  faith  of  that 


22  Miss     Ravexel's    Coxversiox 

land  and  race,  is  not  only  not  favorable  but  is  absolutely- 
noxious  to  social  gayejties,  amenities  and  graces.  I  say 
this  in  sorrow  and  not  in  anger,  for  Xew  England  is  the 
land  of  my  birth  and  Puritanism  is  the  creed  of  my  pro- 
genitors. And  I  add  as  a  mere  matter  of  justice,  that,  de- 
ficient as  the  Xew  Bostonians  are  in  timely  smiles  and  a]>- 
propriate  compliments,  bare  as  they  are  of  jollities  and  an- 
gular in  manners  and  ojmiions,  they  have  strong  sympa- 
thies for  what  is  clearly  right,  and  can  become  enthusias- 
tic in  a  matter  of  conscience  and  benevolence.  If  they 
have  not  learned  how  to  loA'e  the  beautiful,  they  know  how 
to  love  the  good  and  true.  But  Puritanism  is  not  the  only 
reason  why  the  Xew  Bostonians  are  socially  stiff  and  un- 
sympathetic. The  city  is  divided  into  more  than  ihe  ordi- 
nary number  of  cliques  and  coteries,  and  they  are  hedged 
from  each  other  by  an  unusually  thorny  spirit  of  repulsion. 
From  times  now  far  beyond  the  memory  of  the  oldest  in- 
habitant, the  capsheaf  in  the  social  pp-amid  has  been  allot- 
ted by  common  consent,  without  much  opposition  on  the 
part  of  the  other  inhabitants,  to  the  president  and  profes- 
sors of  T\^iuslow  University,  their  families,  and  the  few 
whom  they  choose  to  honor  with  their  intimacy.  In  early 
days  this  learned  institution  was  chiefly  theological  and  its 
magnates  all  clerical ;  and  it  was  inevitable  that  men  bear- 
ing the  priestly  dignity  should  hold  high  rank  in  a  puritan 
community.  Eighty  or  a  hundred  years  ago,  moreover, 
the  professor,  with  his  salary  of  a  thousand  dollars  year- 
ly was  a  nabob  of  wealth  in  a  city  where  there  were  not 
ten  merchants  and  not  one  retired  capitahst  who  could 
boast  an  equal  income.  Finally,  learning  is  a  title  to  con- 
sideration which  always  has  been  and  still  is  recognized 
by  the  majority  of  respectable  Americans.  An  objection- 
able feature  of  this  sacred  inner  chcle  of  society  is  that  it 
contains  none  of  those  seraphim  called  young  gentlemen. 
The  sons  of  the  professors,  excepting  the  few  who  become 
tutors  and  eventually  succeed  their  fathers,  leave  Xew 
Boston  for  larger  fields  of  enterprise  ;  the  daughters  of  the 


Feom    Secession    to    Loyalty.  23 

professors,  enamored  of  learning  and  its  votaries  alone, 
will  not  dance,  nor  pic-nic,  much  less  intermarry,  with  the 
children  of  shop-keepers,  shippers  and  manufacturers  ;  and 
thus  it  hapf)ens  that  almost  the  only  beaux  whom  you  will 
discover  at  the  parties  given  in  this  Upper  Five  Hundred 
are  slender  and  beardless  undergraduates. 

From  the  time  of  Colburne's  introduction  to  the  Raven- 
els  it  was  the  desire  of  his  heart  to  make  ISTew  Boston  a 
pleasant  place  to  them ;  and  by  dint  of  spreading  abroad 
the  fame  of  then*  patriotism  and  its  ennobling  meed  of 
martyrdom,  he  was  able,  in  those  excitable  days,  to  infect 
with  the  same  fancy  all  his  relatives  and  most  of  liis  ac- 
quaintances ;  so  that  in  a  short  time  the  exiles  received 
quite  a  number  of  hospitable  calls  and  invitations.  The 
Doctor,  travelled  man  of  the  world  as  he  was,  made  no 
sort  of  difficulty  in  enjoying  or  seeming  to  enjoy  these  at- 
tentions. If  he  did  not  sincerely  and  heartily  relish  the 
New  Bostonians,  so  different  m  flavor  of  manner  and  edu- 
cation from  the  society  in  which  he  had  been  educated,  he 
at  least  made  them  one  and  all  believe  that  they  were  lux- 
uries to  his  palate.  He  became  shortly  the  most  popular 
man  for  a  dinner  party  or  an  evening  conversazione  that 
was  ever  known  in  that  city  of  geometry  and  puritanism. 
Except  when  they  had  wandered  outside  of  Xew  Boston, 
or  rather,  I  should  say,  outside  of  Xew  England,  and  got 
across  the  ocean,  or  south  of  Mason  and  Dixon's  line, 
these  good  and  grave  burghers  had  never  beheld  such  a 
radiant,  smiling,  universally  sympathetic  and  perennially 
sociable  gentleman  of  fifty  as  Ravenel.  A  most  interesting 
spectacle  was  it  to  see  him  meet  and  greet  one  of  the 
elder  magnates  of  the  university,  usually  a  solid  and  sm- 
cere  but  shy  and  somewhat  unintelligible  person,  who  al- 
ways meant  three  or  four  times  as  much  as  he  said  or 
looked,  and  whose  ice  melted  away  from  him  leaving  him 
free  to  smile,  as  our  southern  friend  fervently  grasped  his 
frigid  hand  and  beamed  with  tropical  warmth  hito  his 
arctic  spirit.     Such  a  greeting  was  as  exhilarating  as  a  pint 


24  Miss    Kayenel's     Conversion 

of  sherry  to  the  sad,  sedentary  scholar,  wlio  liad  just  come 
from  a  weary  day's  grubbing  among  Hebrew  roots,  and 
whose  afternoon  recreation  had  been  a  walk  in  the  city 
cemetery. 

There  were  not  wanting  good  people  who  feared  the 
Doctor  ;  who  were  suspicious  of  this  inexhaustible  courtesy 
and  alarmed  at  these  conversational  j^owers  of  fascination  ; 
who  doubted  whether  poison  might  not  infect  the  pleasant 
talk,  as  malaria  fills  the  orange-scented  air  of  Louisiana. 

"  I  consider  him  a  very  dangerous  man  ;  he  might  do  a 
great  deal  of  harm  if  he  chose,"  remarked  one  of  those 
conscientious  but  uncharitable  ladies  whom  I  have  regard- 
ed since  my  childhood  with  a  mixture  of  veneration  and 
dislike.  Thin-lipped,  hollow-cheeked,  narrow-chested,  with 
only  one  lung  and  an  intermittent  digestion,  without  a 
single  rounded  outline  or  graceful  movement,  she  was  a  sad 
example  of  what  the  Xew  England  east  winds  can  do  in 
enfeebling  and  distortmg  the  human  form  divine.  Such 
are  too  many  of  the  New  Boston  women  when  they  reach 
that  middle  age  which  should  be  physically  an  era  of 
adipose,  and  morally  of  charity.  Even  her  smile  was  a 
Avoful  phenomenon  ;  it  seemed  to  be  rather  a  symptom  of 
pain  than  an  expression  of  pleasure  ;  it  was  a  kind  of  gri- 
ping smile,  like  that  of  an  mfant  with  the  colic. 

"  K  he  chose  !  What  harm  would  he  choose  to  do  ?" 
expostulated  Colburne,  for  whose  ears  this  warning  was 
intended. 

"  I  can't  precisely  make  out  whether  he  is  orthodox  or 
not,"  repHed  the  inexorable  lady.  "  And  if  he  is  hetero- 
dox, what  an  awful  power  he  has  for  deceiving  and  lead- 
ing away  the  minds  of  the  young  !  He  is  altogether  too 
agreeable  to  win  my  confidence  until  I  know  that  he  is 
o-uided  and  restramed  by  grace." 

"  That  is  the  most  unjust  thing  that  I  ever  heard  of," 
broke  out  Colburne  indignantly.  "  To  condemn  a  man 
because  he  is  charming  !  If  the  converse  of  the  rule  is 
true,  Mrs.  Ruggles — if  unpleasant  people   are  to  be  ad- 


From     Secession    to     Loyalty.  25 

mired  because  they  are  such — then  some  of  us  New  Bos- 
tonians  ought  to  be  objects  of  adoration." 

"  I  have  my  opinions,  Mr.  Colburne,"  retorted  the  lady, 
who  was  somewhat  stung,  although  not  clever  enough  to 
comprehend  how  badly. 

"  It  makes  a  great  difference  with  an  object  wlio  looks 
at  it,"  continued  the  young  man.  "  I  sometimes  wonder 
Avhat  the  ants  think  of  us  human  beings.  Do  they  under- 
stand our  capacities,  duties  and  destinies  ?  Or  do  they 
look  upon  us  from  what  might  be  called  a  pismire  point  of 
view  ?" 

Colburne  could  say  such  things  because  he  was  a  popu- 
lar favorite.  To  people  who,  like  the  Xew  Bostonians,  di%l 
not  demand  a  high  finish  of  manner,  this  young  man  was 
charming.  He  was  sympathetic,  earnest  in  his  feelings,  as 
frank  as  such  a  modest  fellow  could  be,  and  among  friends 
had  any  quantity  of  exj^ansion  and  animation.  He  would 
get  into  a  gale  of  jesting  and  laughter  over  a  game  of 
whist,  provided  his  fellow  j^layers  were  in  anywise  dis- 
j^osed  to  be  merry.  On  such  occasions  his  eyes  became 
so  bright  and  his  cheeks  so  flushed  that  he  seemed  lumin- 
ous with  good  humor.  His  laugh  was  sonorous,  hearty, 
and  contagious ;  and  he  was  not  at  all  fastidious  as  to 
what  he  laughed  at :  it  was  sufficient  for  him  if  he  saw 
that  you  meant  to  be  witty.  In  conversation  he  was  very 
pleasant,  and  had  only  one  questionable  trick,  which  was 
a  truly  American  habit  of  hyperbole.  When  he  was  ex- 
cited he  had  a  droll,  absent-minded  way  of  running  his 
fingers  through  his  wavy  brown  hair,  until  it  stood  up  in 
picturesque  masses  which  were  very  becommg.  His  fore- 
head was  broad  and  clear ;  his  complexion  moderately 
light,  with  a  strong  color  in  the  cheeks  ;  his  nose  straight 
and  handsome,  and  other  features  sufficiently  regular ;  his 
eyes  of  a  light  hazel,  and  remarkable  for  their  gentleness. 
There  was  nothing  hidden,  nothing  stern,  in  his  expression 
— you  saw  at  a  glance  that  he  was  the  embodiment  of 
frankness  and  good  nature.      In  person  he   was  strongly 

B 


2fi  Miss     Ravexel's     Conversion 

built,  and  he  bad  increased  bis  vigor  by  systematic  exer- 
cise. He  bad  been  one  of  tbe  best  gymnasts  and  oarsmen 
in  college,  and  still  kej)t  up  bis  familiarity  witb  swinging- 
bars  and  racing  sbells.  His  firm  wbite  arms  were  well  set 
on  broad  sboulders  and  a  full  chest ;  and  a  pair  of  long, 
vigorous  legs  completed  an  uncommonly  fine  figure.  Par- 
donably proud  of  the  strength  which  he  had  m  part  cre- 
ated, he  loved  to  exhibit  gymnastic  feats,  and  to  talk  of 
the  matches  in  which  he  had  been  stroke-oar.  It  was  the 
only  subject  on  which  he  exhibited  personal  vanity.  To 
^um  up,  he  was  considered  in  his  set  the  finest  and  most 
agreeable  young  man  in  Xew  Boston. 

Let  us  now  return  to  the  dinner  of  Professor  "White- 
wood.  The  party  consisted  of  eight  persons ;  the  male 
places  being  filled  by  Professor  Whitewood,  Doctor  Rav- 
enel,  Colburne,  and  a  Lieutenant-Colonel  Carter  ;  the  fe- 
male by  Mrs.  and  Miss  Whitewood,  Miss  Ravenel,  and 
John  Whitewood,  Jr.  This  last  named  individual,  the 
son  and  hcii-  of  the  host,  a  youth  of  twenty  years  of  age, 
was  a  very  proper  person  to  fill  the  position  of  fourth  lady. 
Thin,  pale  and  almost  sallow,  with  pinched  features  sur- 
mounted by  a  high  and  roomy  forehead,  tall,  slender,  nar- 
row-chested and  fi-agile  in  form,  shy,  silent,  and  pure  as 
the  timidest  of  girls,  he  was  an  example  of  what  can  be 
done  with  youthful  blood,  muscle,  mind  and  feeling  by  the 
studious  severities  of  a  puritan  university.  Miss  Ravenel, 
accustomed  to  far  more  masculine  men,  felt  a  contempt  for 
him  at  the  first  glance,  saying  to  herself.  How  dreadfully 
ladylike  !  She  was  far  better  satisfied  with  the  appear- 
ance of  the  stranger,  Lieutenant-Colonel  Carter.  A  little 
above  the  middle  height  he  was,  with  a  full  chest,  broad 
shoulders  and  muscular  anns,  brown  curlins:  hair,  and  a 
monstrous  brown  mustache,  forehead  not  very  high,  nose 
straight  and  chm  dimpled,  brown  eyes  at  once  audacious 
and  mirthful,  and  a  dark  rich  complexion  which  made  one 
think  of  pipes  of  sherry  wine  as  well  as  of  years  of  sun- 
burnt adventure.      When  he   was   presented  to   her  he 


From    Secession    to    Loyalty.  27 

looked  her  full  in  the  eyes  with  a  bold  flash  of  interest 
which  caused  her  to  color  from  her  forehead  to  her  shoul- 
ders. In  age  he  might  have  been  anywhere  from  thirty- 
three  to  thii-ty-seven.  In  manner  he  was  a  thorough  man 
of  the  world  without  the  insinuating  suavity  of  her  father, 
but  with  all  his  self-possession  and  readiness. 

Colburne  had  not  expected  this  alarming  phenomenon. 
He  was  clever  enough  to  recognize  the  stranger's  gigantic 
social  stature  at  a  glance,  and  like  the  Israelitish  spies  in 
the  presence  of  the  Amakim,  he  felt  himself  shrink  to  a 
grasshopper  mediocrity. 

At  table  the  company  was  arranged  as  follows.  At  the 
head  sat  Mrs.  Whitewood,  with  Dr.  Ravenel  on  her  right, 
and  Miss  Whitewood  on  her  left.  At  the  foot  was  the 
host,  flanked  on  the  right  by  Miss  Ravenel  and  on  the  left 
by  Lieutenant-Colonel  Carter.  The  two  central  side  places 
were  occupied  by  young  Whitewood  and  Colbunie,  the 
latter  being  between  Miss  Whitewood  and  Miss  Ravenel. 
With  a  quickness  of  perception  which  I  suspect  he  would 
not  have  shown  had  not  his  heart  been  interested  in  the 
question  he  immediately  decided  that  Doctor  Ravenel  was 
intended  to  go  tete-a-tete  with  Mrs.  Whitewood,  and  this 
strange  officer  with  Miss  Ravenel,  while  he  was  to  devote 
himself  to  Miss  Whitewood.  The  worrying  thought  drove 
every  brilliant  idea  from  his  head.  He  could  no  more  talk 
and  be  merry  than  could  that  hermaphrodite  soul  whose 
lean  body  and  cadaverous  countenance  fronted  him  on  the 
opposite  side  of  the  table.  Miss  Whitewood,  who  was 
nearly  as  great  a  student  as  her  brother,  was  almost  as  de- 
ficient in  the  powers  of  speech ;  she  made  an  efibrt,  first  in 
the  direction  of  the  coming  Presentation  Day,  then  to- 
wards somebody's  notes  on  Cicero,  finally  upon  the  wea- 
ther ;  at  last,  with  a  woman's  sympathetic  divination,  she 
guessed  the  cause  of  Colbume's  gloom,  and  sank  into  a 
pitying  silence.  As  for  Mrs.  Whitewood,  amiable  woman 
and  excellent  housewife,  though  an  invalid,  her  conversa- 
tional faculty  consisted  in  listening.     Thus  nobody  talked 


28  Miss     Ravenel's     Conversion 

except  the  Ravenels,  Lieutenant-Colonel  Carter,  and  Pro- 
fessor Whitewood. 

Colburne  endeavored  to  conceal  his  troubled  condition 
by  a  smile  of  counterfeit  interest  in  the  conversation. 
Then  he  grew  ashamed  of  himself,  and  tearing  off  his  ficti- 
tious smirk,  substituted  a  look  of  stern  thought,  thereby 
exliibiting  an  honest  countenance,  but  not  one  suitable  to 
the  occasion.  There  was  sherry  on  the  table  ;  not  because 
wine-bibbing  was  a  habit  of  the  Whitewoods,  inasmuch  as 
the  hostess  had  brought  it  out  of  the  family  medical  stores 
Avith  a  painful  twinge  of  conscience  ;  but  there  it  was,  in 
deference  to  the  suj^posed  tastes  of  the  army  gentleman 
and  the  strangers  from  the  south.  Colburne  was  tempted 
to  rouse  himself  with  a  glass  of  it,  but  did  not,  being  a 
pledged  member  of  a  temperance  society.  Instead  of  this 
he  made  a  gallant  moral  effort,  and  succeeded  in  talking 
copiously  to  the  junior  Whitewood.  But  as  what  he  said 
is  of  little  consequence  to  our  story,  let  us  go  back  a  few 
moments  and  learn  what  it  was  that  had  depressed  his 
spirits. 

"  I  am  delighted  to  meet  some  one  from  Louisiana,  Miss 
Ravenel,"  said  the  Lieutenant-Colonel,  after  the  master  of 
the  house  had  said  grace. 

"  Why  ?  Are  you  a  Louisianian  ?"  asked  the  yoimg  lady 
with,  a  blush  of  interest  whicli  was  the  first  thing  that 
troubled  Colburne. 

"  Xot  precisely.  I  came  very  near  calling  myself  such 
at  one  time,  I  liked  the  State  and  the  peo2:)le  so  much.  I 
was  stationed  there  for  several  years." 

"  Indeed  !     At  jS^ew  Orleans  ?" 

"  Not  so  fortunate,"  replied  the  Lieutenant  Colonel  with 
a  smile  and  a  slight  bow,  which  was  as  much  as  to  say 
that,  if  he  had  been  stationed  there,  he  might  have  hoj^ed 
for  the  happiness  of  knowing  Miss  Ravenel  earlier.  "  I 
was  stationed  in  the  arsenal  at  Baton  Rouge." 

"  I  never  was  at  Baton  Rouge  ;  I  mean  I  never  "sdsited 
there.     I  have  passed  there  repeatedly  in  going  up  and 


From     Secession    to     Loyalty.  29 

down  the  river,  just  while  the  boat  made  its  landings,  you 
know.  What  a  beautiful  place  it  is  !  I  don't  mean  tbe 
buildings,  but  the  situation,  the  bluffs." 

"  Precisely.  Great  relief  to  get  to  Baton  Rouge  and 
see  a  hill  or  two  after  staying  in  the  lowlands." 

"  Oh  !  don't  say  anything  against  the  lowlands,"  begged 
Miss  Ravenel. 

"I  won't,"  promised  the  Lieutenant  Colonel.  "  Give 
you  my  word  of  honor  I  won't  do  it,  not  even  in  the  strict- 
est privacy." 

There  was  a  cavalier  dash  in  the  gentleman's  tone  and 
manner ;  he  looked  and  spoke  as  if  he  felt  himself  quite 
good  enough  for  his  company.  And  so  he  was,  at  least  in 
respect  to  descent  and  social  position ;  for  no  family  in 
Virginia  boasted  a  purer  strain  of  old  colonial  blue  blood 
than  the  Carters.  In  addition  the  Lieutenant  Colonel  was 
a  gentleman  by  right  of  a  graduation  from  West  Point, 
and  of  a  commission  in  the  regular  service  which  dated 
back  to  the  times  when  there  were  no  volunteers  and  few 
civilian  appointments,  and  when  by  consequence  army  offi- 
cers formed  a  caste  of  aristocratic  military  brahmins. 
From  the  regular  service,  however,  in  which  he  had 
been  only  a  lieutenant,  his  name  had  vanished  several 
years  previous.  His  lieutenant-colonelcy  was  a  volunteer 
commission  issued  by  the  governor  of  the  State.  It  was  in 
the  Second  Barataria,  a  three-months'  regiment,  which 
was  shortly  to  distinguish  itself  by  a  masterly  retreat 
from  Bull  Run.  Carter  had  injured  his  ancle  by  a  fall 
from  his  horse,  and  was  away  from  the  army  on  a  sick 
leave  of  twenty  days,  avoiding  the  hospitals  of  Washing- 
ton, and  giving  up  his  customary  enjoyments  in  Xew  York 
for  the  sake  of  attending  to  business  which  will  transpii-e 
during  this  narrative.  His  leave  had  nearly  expired,  but 
he  had  applied  to  the  War  Department  for  an  extension  of 
ten  days,  and  was  awaiting  an  answer  from  that  awful 
headquarters  with  the  utmost  tranquillity.  If  he  found 
himself  in  the  condition  of  being  absent   without  leave, 


30  Miss    Rayexel's     Coxveksiox 

he  knew  liow  to  explain  things  to  a  military  commission 
or  a  board  of  inquiry. 

The  Lieutenant-Colonel  liked  the  appearance  of  the 
young  person  whom  he  had  been  invited  to  meet.  In  the 
first  place,  he  said  to  himself,  she  had  a  charming  mixture 
of  girlish  freshness  and  of  the  thorough-bred  society  air 
which  he  considered  indispensable  to  a 'lady.  In  the 
second  place  she  looked  somewhat  like  his  late  wife  ;  and 
although  he  had  been  a  wasteful  and  neglectful  husband, 
he  still  kept  a  moderately  soft  spot  in  his  heart  for  the 
memory  of  the  departed  one ;  not  being  in  this  respect 
different,  I  understand,  from  the  majority  of  widowers. 
He  saw  that  Miss  Ravenel  was  willing  to  talk  any  kind 
of  nothing  so  long  as  she  could  talk  of  her  native  State, 
and  that  therefore  he  could  please  her  without  much  in- 
tellectual strain  or  chance  of  rivalry.  Consequently  he 
prattled  and  made  prattle  for  some  minutes  about  Louis- 
iana. 

"Were  you  acquainted  with  the  McAllisters?"  he 
wanted  to  know.  "  Very  natural  that  you  shouldn't  be. 
They  lived  up  the  river,  and  seldom  went  to  the  city. 
They  had  such  a  noble  plantation,  though !  You  could 
enjoy  the  true,  old-style,  princely  Louisiana  hospitality 
there.  Splendid  life,  that  of  a  southern  planter.  If  I 
hadn't  been  in  the  army — or  rather,  if  I  could  have  done 
everything  that  I  fancied,  I  should  have  become  a  sugar 
planter.  Of  course  I  should  have  run  myself  out,  for  it 
takes  a  frightful  capital  and  some  business  faculty,  or  else 
the  best  of  luck.  By  the  way,  I  am  afraid  those  fine  fel- 
lows will  all  of  them  come  to  grief  if  this  war  continues 
five  or  six  years." 

"  Five  or  six  years  !"  exclaimed  Professor  Whitewood 
in  astonishment,  but  not  in  dismay,  so  utter  was  his  incre- 
dulity. "Do  you  suppose.  Colonel,  that  the  rebels  can 
resist  for  five  or  six  years  ?" 

"  Why  not  ?  Ten  or  twelve  millions  of  people  on  their 
own  ground,  and  difficult  ground  too,  will  make  a  terrific 


From    Secession    to    Loyalty, 


31 


resistance.  They  are  as  well  prepared  as  we  are,  and  bet- 
ter. Frederic  of  Prussia  wasn't  conquered  m  seven  years. 
I  don't  see  anything  unreasonable  in  allowing  these  fel- 
lows five  or  six.  By  the  way,"  he  laughed,  "  I  am  givmg 
you  an  honest  professional  opinion.  Talking  outside—to 
the  rabble— talking  as  a  patriot,"  (here  he  laughed  agam) 
"  and  not  as  an  officer,  I  say  three  months.  Do  it  m  three 
months,  gentlemen  !"  he  added,  setting  his  head  back  and 
swelling  his  chest  in  imitation  of  the  conventional  popular 
orator.  . 

Miss  Pvavenel  laughed  outright  to  hear  the  enemies  ot 
her  section  satuized. 

"  But  how  will  the  South  stand  a  contest  of  five  or  six 
years  ?"  queried  the  Professor. 

"  Oh,  badly,  of  course  ;  get  whipped,  of  course  ;  that  is, 
if  we  develope  energy  and  military  talent.  We  have  the 
resources  to  thrash  ^them.  War  in  the  long  rim  is  pretty 
much  a  matter  of  arithmetical  calculation.  Oh,  Miss  Rav- 
enel,  I  was  about  to  ask  you,  did  you  know  the  Slidells  ?" 
"  Very  slightlv." 

"  Why  slightly  ?  Didn't  you  like  them?  I  thought 
they  were  very  agreeable  people;  though,  to  be  sure, 
they  were  parvenus.'^'' 

"  They  were  very  ultra,  you  know ;  and  papa  was  of 
the  other  party." 

"  Oh,  indeed  !"  said  the  Lieutenant-Colonel,  turning  his 
head  and  surveying  Ptavenel  with  curiosity,  not  because 
he  was  loyal,  but  because  he  was  the  young  lady's  papa. 
"  How  I  regret  that  I  had  no  chance  to  make  your  father's 
acquaintance  m  Louisiana.  Give  you  my  honor  that  I 
wasn't  so  simple  as  to  prefer  Baton  Rouge  to  N'ew  Orleans. 
I  tried  to  get  ordered  to  the  crescent  city,  but  the  War 
Department  was  obdurate.  I  am  confident,"  he  added, 
with  his  audacious  smile,  half  flattering  and  half  quizzical, 
"  that  if  the  Washington  people  had  known  all  that  I  lost 
by  not  getting  to  ^N'ew  Orleans,  they  would  have  relented." 
"it  was  perfectly  clear  to  Miss  Ravenel  that  he  meant  to 


32  Miss    Ravexel's    Conversion 

pay  her  a  compliment.  It  occurred  to  lier  that  she  was 
i:)robably  in  short  di-esses  when  the  gallant  Lieutenant- 
Colonel  was  on  duty  at  Baton  Rouge,  and  thus  missed  a 
chance  of  seeing  her  in  Xew  Orleans.  But  she  did  not 
allude  to  this  ludicrous  possibility  ;  she  only  colored  at  his 
audacity,  and  said,  "  Oh,  it's  such  a  lovely  city !  I  think 
it  is  far  preferable  to  New  York." 

"  But  is  it  not  a  very  wicked  city  ?"  asked  the  host, 
quite  seriously. 

"Mr.  Whitewood  !  How  can  you  say  that  to  me,  a  na- 
tive of  it  ?"  she  laughed. 

"  Jerusalem,"  j^ursued  the  Professor,  getting  out  of  his 
scrape  with  a  kmd'of  ponderous  dexterity,  like  an  elephant 
backing  ofP  a  shak}^  bridge,  and  takuig  his  time  about  it, 
like  Xoah  spending  a  hundred  and  twenty  years  m  build- 
ing his  ark — "  Jerusalem  j^roved  her  wickedness  by  casting 
out  the  prophets.  It  seems  to  me  that  your  presence  here, 
and  that  of  your  father,  as  exiles,  is  sufficient  proof  of  the 
iniquity  of  Xew  Orleans." 

"  Upon  my  honor,  Professor  !"  burst  out  the  Lieutenant- 
Colonel,  "  you  beat  the  best  man  I  ever  saw  at  a  compli- 
ment." 

It  was  now  Professor  Whitewood's  pale  and  wrinkled 
cheek  which  flushed,  partly  with  gratification,  partly  with 
embarrassment.  His  wife  surveyed  him  in  mild  astonish- 
ment, almost  fearing  that  he  had  indulged  in  much  sherry. 

•  The  Lieutenant-Colonel,  by  the  way,  had  taken  to  the 
wme  in  a  style  which  showed  that  he  was  used  to  the 
taste  of  it,  and  liked  the  eflects.  His  conversation  orrew 
more  animated ;  his  bass  voice  rang  from  end  to  end  of 
the  table,  startling  Mrs.  Whitewood  ;  his  fine  brown  eyes 
flashed,  and  a  few  drops  of  perspiration  beaded  his  brow. 
It  must  not  be  supposed  that  the  sheriy  alone  could  do  as 
much  as  this  for  so  old  a  campaigner.  That  afternoon,  as 
he  lounged  and  yawned  in  the  readmg-room  of  the  Xew 
Boston  House,  he  had  thought  of  Professor  Whitewood's 
invitation,  and,  feeling  low-spirited  and  stupid,  had  con- 


Feom     Secession     to     Loyalty.  33 

eluded  not  to  go  to  the  dinner,  althongli  in  the  morning  he 
had  sent  a  not^  of  acceptance.  Then,  feeling  low-spirited 
and  stupid,  as  I  said,  he  took  a  glass  of  ale,  and  subse- 
quently a  stiffish  whiskey-punch,  following  up  the  treat- 
ment with  a  segar,  which  by  producmg  a  dryness  of  the 
throat,  induced  him  to  try  another  whiskey-punch.  Forti- 
fied by  twenty-five  cents'  worth  of  liquor  (at  the  then 
prices)  he  felt  his  ambition  and  industry  revive.  By  Jove, 
Carter,  he  said  to  himself,  you  must  go  to  that  dinner- 
party. Whitewood  is  just  one  of  those  pious  heavy- 
weio-hts  who  can  biing  this  puritanical  governor  to 
terms.  Put  on  your  best  toggery,  Carter,  and  make  your 
bow,  and  say  how-de-do. 

Thus  it  was  that  when  the  Professor's  sherry  entered  in- 
to the  Lieutenant-Colonel,  it  found  an  ally  there  which  aid- 
ed it  to  produce  the  afore-mentioned  signs  of  excitement. 
Colburne,  I  grieve  to  say,  almost  rejoiced  in  detecting 
these  symptoms,  thuiking  that  surely  Miss  Ravenel  would 
not  fancy  a  man  who  was,  to  say  the  least,  uiordiaately 
convivial.  Alas  !  Miss  Kavenel  had  been  too  much  accus- 
tomed to  just  such  gentlemen  in  Xew  Orleans  society  to 
see  anything  disgusting  or  even  surprising  in  the  manner 
of  the  Lieutenant-Colonel.  She  continued  to  prattle  with 
him.  in  her  pleasantest  manner  about  Louisiana,  not  in  the 
least  restrained  by  Colburne's  presence,  and  only  now  and 
then  casting  an  anxious  glance  at  her  father  ;  for  Ravenel 
the  father,  man  of  the  world  as  he  was,  did  not  fancy  the 
bacchanalian  Xew  Orleans  type  of  gentility,  having  ob- 
served that  it  frequently  brought  itself  and  its  T\'ife  and 
children  to  grief 

The  dinner  lasted  an  hour  and  a  half,  by  which  time  it 
was  nearly  twilight.  The  ordinary  prandial  hour  of  the 
Whitewoods,  as  well  as  of  most  fashionable  Xew  Boston 
people,  was  not  later  than  two  o'clock  in  the  afternoon, 
but  tliis  had  been  considered  a  special  occasion  on  account 
of  the  far-off*  origin  of  some  of  the  guests,  and  the  meal  had 
therefore  commenced  at  five.  On  leaving  the  table  the 
B2 


34  Miss     Ravexel's     Coxversion 

party  went  into  the  parlor  and  had  coffee.  Then  Miss 
Ravenel  thought  it  wise  to  propitiate  her  father's  searching 
eye  by  quitting  the  Lieutenant-Colonel  with  his  pleasant 
wordly  ways  and  his  fascinating  masculine  maturity,  and 
going  to  visit  the  greenhouse  in  company  with  that  pale 
bit  of  human  celery,  John  White  wood.  Carter  politely 
stood  up  to  the  rack  for  a  while  wdth  IMiss  Whitewood, 
but,  finding  it  dry  fodder  to  his  taste,  soon  made  his 
adieux.  Colburne  shortly  followed,  in  a  state  of  mind  to 
question  the  goodness  of  Providence  in  permitting  lieuten- 
ant-colonels. 


CHAPTER  ni. 

MR.  COLBURNE  TAKES  A  SEGAR  WITH  LIEUTEXAXT-COLOXEL 
CARTER. 

As  Colbnrne  neared  his  house  he  saw  the  Lieutenant- 
Colonel  standmg  in  the  flare  of  a  street  lamp  and  looking 
up  at  the  luminary  with  an  air  of  puzzled  consideration. 
With  a  temperance  man's  usual  lack  of  charity  to  people 
given  to  wine,  the  civilian  judged  that  the  soldier  was 
disgracefully  intoxicated,  and,  instead  of  thinking  how 
to  conduct  him  quietly  home,  was  about  to  pass  him  by 
on  the  other  side.  The  Lieutenant-Colonel  turned  and  re- 
cognized the  young  man.  Li  other  states  of  feeling  he 
would  have  cut  him  there  and  then,  on  the  ground  that 
it  was  not  binding  on  him  to  continue  a  chance  acquaint- 
ance. But  being  full  at  the  moment  of  that  comprehen- 
sive love  of  fellow  existences  which  some  constitutions 
extract  from  inebriating  fluids,  he  said, 

"  Ah  !  how  are  you  ?     Glad  to  come  across  you  again." 
Colburne  nodded,  smiled  and  stopped,  saying,  "  Can  I 
do  anything  for  you  ?" 


FEOii     Secession    to     Loyalty.  35 

Will  you  smoke  ?"  asked  the  Lieutenant-Colonel,  offer- 
"  But  how  to  light  it  ?  there's  the  rub.  I've 
just  broken  my  last  match  against  this  ciirsed  wet  lamp- 
post— never  thought  of  the  dew,  you  know — and  Avas  stu- 
dying 'the  machine  itself,  to  see  if  I  could  get  up  to  it 
and  into  it." 

"  I  have  matches,"  said  Colburne.  He  produced  them ; 
they  lighted  and  walked  on  together. 

Being  a  great  fancier  of  good  segars,  and  of  moonlit 
summer  walks  under  Xew  Boston  elms,  I  should  like  here 
to  describe  how  sweetly  the  fragrance  of  the  Havanas  rose 
through  the  still,  dewy  air  into  the  interlacing  arches  of 
nature's  cathedral  aisles.  The  subject  would  have  its 
charms,  not  only  for  the  great  multitude  of  my  brother 
smokers,  but  for  many  young  ladies  who  dearly  love  the 
smell  of  a  segar  because  they  like  the  creatures  who  use 
them.  At  a  later  period  of  this  history,  if  I  see  that  I  am 
likely  to  have  the  necessary  space  and  time,  I  may  bloom 
into  such  pleasant  episodes. 

"  Come  to  my  room,"  said  the  soldier,  taking  the  arm  of 
the  civilian.  "  Hope  yon  have  nothing  better  to  do.  We 
Avill  have  a  glass  of  ale." 

Colburne  would  have  been  glad  to  refuse.  He  was  mod- 
est enough  to  feel  himself  at  a  disadvantage  in  the  compa- 
ny of  men  of  fashion  ;  and  moreover  he  was  just  sufficient- 
ly jealous  of  the  Lieutenant-Colonel  not  to  desire  to  fra- 
ternize ^dth  him.  Finally,  a  strong  suspicion  troubled  his 
mind  that  this  military  personage,  indifferent  to  Xew  Bos- 
ton opinions,  and  evidently  a  wine-bibber,  might  proceed 
to  get  publicly  drunk,  thus  making  a  disagreeable  scene^ 
with  a  chance  of  future  scandal.  Why  then  did  not  Col- 
burne decline  the  invitation?  Because  he  was  young, 
good-natured,  modest,  and  wanting  in  that  social  tact 
and  courage  which  most  men  only  acquire  by  much  in- 
tercourse with  a  great  variety  of  theh  fellow  creatures. 
The  Lieutenant-Colonel's,  walk  was  the  merest  trifle  un- 
steady, or  at  least  careless,  and  his  herculean  arm,  solid 


36  Miss    Ravexel's     Conversion 

and  knotted  as  an  apple-tree  limb,  swayed  repeatedly 
against  Colbnrne,  eliciting  from  liim  a  stroke-oarsman's  ap- 
probation. Proud  of  his  own  biceps,  the  young  man  had 
to  acknowledge  its  comparative  hiferiority  in  volume  and 
texture. 

"  Are  you  a  gymnast.  Colonel  ?"  he  asked.  "  Your  arm 
feels  Uke  it." 

"Sword  exercise,"  answered  the  other.  "Very  good 
thing  to  work  off  a  heavy  dinner.  What  do  you  do 
here"?     Boat  it,  eh  ?     That's  better  yet,  I  fancy." 

'♦  But  the  sword  exercise  is  just  the  thing  for  your  pro- 
fession." 

"  Pshaw  ! — ^beg  pardon.  But  do  you  suppose  that  we 
m  these  times  ever  fight  hand  to  hand  ?  Xo  sir.  Gun- 
powder has  killed  all  that." 

"  Perhaps  there  never  was  much  real  hand  to  hand 
fightino',"  suggested  Colburne.  "  Look  at  the  battle  of 
Pharsaiia.  Two  armies  of  Romans,  the  best  soldiers  of  an- 
tiquity, meet  each  other,  and  the  defeated  party  loses 
fifteen  thousand  men  killed  and  wounded,  while  the  vic- 
tors lose  only  about  two  hundred.  Is  that  fighting  ?  Isn't 
it  clear  that  Pompey's  men  began  to  run  away  when  they 
got  within  about  ten  feet  of  Cxesar's  ?" 

"  By  Jove  !  you're  right.  Bully  for  you  !  You  would 
make  a  soldier.  Yes.  And  if  Caesar's  men  had  had  long- 
rano-e  rifles,  Pompey's  men  would  have  run  away  at  a 
hundred  yards.  All  victories  are  won  by  moral  force — by 
the  terror  of  death  rather  than  by  death  itself" 

"  Then  it  is  not  the  big  battalions  that  carry  the  day," 
inferred  Colburne.  "  The  weakest  battalions  will  win,  if 
they  will  stand." 

"  But  they  won't  stand,  by  Jove  !  As  soon  as  they  see 
they  are  the  weakest,  they  run  away.  Modern  war  is 
founded  on  the  prmciple  that  one  man  is  afraid  of  two. 
Of  course  you  must  make  allowance  for  circumstances, 
strength  of  position,  fortifications,  superior  discipline,  and 
superior  leadership.     Circumstances  are  sometimes  strong 


From    Secession    to     Lotaltt.  37 

enough  to  neutralize  numbers. — Look  here.  Axe  you  in- 
terested in  these  matters  ?  Why  don't  you  go  into  the 
army  ?  What  the  devil  are  you  staying  at  home  for  when 
the  whole  nation  is  arming,  or  will  soon  have  to  arm  ?" 

"  I  " — stammered  Colburne — "  I  have  thought  of  apply- 
ing for  a  quartermaster's  position," 

"  A  quartermaster's  !"  exclaimed  the  Lieutenant-Colonel, 
without  seekhig  to  disguise  his  contempt.  "  What  for  ? 
To  keep  out  of  the  fighting  ?" 

"  Xo,"  said  Colburne,  meekly.  "  But  I  do  know  a  little 
of  the  ways  of  business,  and  I  know  nothing  of  tactics  and 
discij)line.  I  coiild  no  more  drill  a  company  than  I  could 
sail  a  ship.  I  should  be  like  the  man  who  mounted  such  a 
tall  horse  that  he  not  only  couldn't  manage  him,  but 
couldn't  get  ofl*  till  he  was  thrown  off".  I  should  be  dis- 
missed for  incompetency." 

"  But  you  can  learn  all  that.  You  can  learn  in  a  month. 
You  are  a  college  man,  aint  you  ? — you  can  learn  more  in 
a  month  than  these  boors  from  the  militia  can  in  ten  years. 
I  tell  you  that  the  fellows  who  are  in  command  of  compa- 
nies in  my  regiment,  and  in  all  the  volunteer  regiments 
that  I  know,  are  not  fit  on  an  average  to  be  corporals.  The 
best  of  them  are  from  fair  to  middlins^.  You  are  a  colleo-e  • 
man,  amt  you  ?  Well,  when  I  get  a  regiment  you  shall 
have  a  company  in  it.  Come  up  to  my  quarters,  and  let's 
talk  this  over." 

Arrived  at  his  room.  Carter  rang  for  Scotch  ale  and  se- 
gars.  Li  the  course  of  half  an  hour  he  became  exceedingly 
open-hearted,  though  not  drunk  in  the  ordinary  and  disa- 
greeable acceptation  of  the  word. 

"  I'll  tell  you  why  I  am  on  here,"  said  he.  "  It's  my 
mother's  native  State — old  Baratarian  family — Standishes, 
you  know — historically  Puritan  and  colonial.  The  White- 
woods  are  somehow  related  to  me.  By  the  way,  I'm  a 
Virginian.  I  suppose  you  think  it  queer  to  find  me  on 
this  side.  Xo  you  don't,  though ;  you  don't  believe  in 
the  State  Riaht   of  secession.      Xeither  do  I.     I  was  edu- 


38  Miss    Raven  el's     Conversion 

cated  a  United  States  soldier.  I  follow  General  Scott. 
Xo  Virginian  need  be  ashamed  to  follow  old  Fuss  and 
Feathers.  TV"e  used  to  swear  by  him  in  the  army.  Great 
Scott !  the  fellows  said.  Well,  as  I  had  to  give  up  my  fa- 
ther's State,  I  have  come  to  my  mother's.  I  want  old  Bar- 
ataria  to  distinguish  herself.  Now's  the  chance.  We  are 
going  to  have  a  long  war.  I  want  the  State  to  be  pre- 
pared and  come  out  strong ;  it's  the  grandest  chance  she'll 
ever  have  to  make  herself  famous.  I've  been  to  see  the 
Governor.  I  said  to  him,  '  Governor,  now's  your  chance  ; 
now's  the  chance  for  Barataria ;  now's  my  chapce.  It's 
going  to  be  a  long  war.  Don't  depend  on  volunteermg — 
it  won't  last.  Get  a  militia  system  ready  which  will 
classify  the  whole  population,  and  bring  it  into  the  fight 
as  fast  as  it's  needed.  Make  the  State  a  Prussia.  If  you'll 
allow  me,  I'll  draw  up  a  -plmi  which  shall  make  Barataria 
a  military  community,  and  put  her  at  the  head  of  the 
Union  for  moral  and  physical  power.  Appoint  me  your 
chief  of  stafi*,  and  I'll  not  only  draw  up  the  plan,  but  put 
it  in  force.  Then  give  me  a  division,  or  only  a  brigade, 
and  I'll  show  you  what  well-disciplined  Baratarians  can 
do  on  the  battle-field.  Xow  what  do  you  think  the  Gover- 
nor answered  ? — Governor's  a  dam  fool !" 

"  Oh,  no  !"  protested  Colburne,  astonished ;  for  the  chief 
magistrate  of  Barataria  was  highly  respected. 

"  I  don't  mean  individually — not  a  natural-born  fool," 
explained  the  Lieutenant-Colonel — "  but  a  fool  from  the 
necessity  of  the  case ;  mouthpiece,  you  see,  of  a  stupid  day 
and  generation.  What  can  he  do  ?  he  asks.  I  admit  it. 
He  can't  do  anything  but  what  Democracy  permits.  Lose 
the  next  election,  he  says.  Well,  I  suppose  he  would ;  and 
that  won't  answer.  Governor's  wise  in  his  day  and  gen- 
eration, although  a  fool  by  .the  eternal  laws  of  military 
reason. — I  don't  know  as  I  talk  very  clearly.  But  you  get 
at  my  meaning,  don't  you  ? — Well,  I  had  a  long  argu- 
ment, and  gave  it  up.  We  must  go  on  volunteering,  and 
the   rusty  militia-men  and  greasy  dema- 


Feom     Secession    to     Loyalty.  39 

gogues  who  bring  in  the  comi^anies.  The  rank  and  file 
is  magnificent — can't  be  equalled — too  good.  But  such  an 
infernally  miserable  set  as  the  officers  average  !  Some 
bright  young  fellows,  who  can  be  licked  into  shape ;  the 
rest  old  deacons,  tinkers,  military  tailors,  Jew  pedlars 
broken  down  stump  orators  ;  wrong-headed  cubs  who  have 
learned  just  enough  of  tactics  to  know  how  not  to  do  it. 
Look  at  the  man  that  I,  a  Virginian  gentleman,  a  West 
Pointer,  have  over  me  for  Colonel.  He's  an  old  bloat — an 
old  political  bloat.  He  knows  no  more  of  tactical  evolu- 
tions than  he  does  of  the  art  of  navigation.  He'll  order  a 
battalion  which  is  marching  division  front  to  break  into 
platoons.  You  don't  understand  that?  It's  about  the 
same  as — well,  never  mind — it  can't  be  done.  Well,  this 
cursed  old  bloat  is  engineering  to  be  a  General.  We  don't 
want  such  fellows  for  Generals,  nor  for  Colonels,  nor  for 
Captains,  nor  for  privates,  by  Jove  !  If  Barataria  had  to 
fit  out  frigates  instead  of  regiments,  I  wonder  if  she  would 
put  such  men  in  command  of  them.  Democracy  might  de- 
mand it.  The  Governor  would  know  better,  but  he  might 
be  driven  to  it,  for  fear  of  losing  the  next  election. 

"Now  then,"  continued  the  Lieutenant-Colonel,  "I 
come  to  business.  We  shall  have  to  raise  more  regiments. 
I  shall  apply  for  the  command  of  one  of  them,  and  shall 
get  it.  But  I  want  gentlemen  for  my  officers.  I  am  a 
gentleman  myself,  and  a  West  Pointer.  I  don't  want  tin- 
kers and  pedlars  and  country  deacons.  You're  a  college 
man,  aint  you  ?  All  right.  College  men  will  do  for  me. 
I  want  you  to  take  a  company  in  my  regiment,  and  get  in 
as  many  more  of  your  set  as  you  can.  I'm  not  firing  blank 
cartridge.  My  tongue  may  be  thick,  but  my  head  is  clear. 
Will  you  do  it  ?" 

"  I  will,"  decided  Colburne,  after  a  moment  of  earnest 
consideration. 

The  problem  occurred  to  him  whether  this  man,  clever 
as  he  was,  professional  soldier  as  he  was,  but  aj^parently  a 
follower  of  rash  John  Barlevcorn,  would  be  a  wiser  leader 


40  Miss    Raven  el's     Conversion 

in  the  field  than  a  green  but  temperate  civilian.  He  could 
not  stop  to  settle  the  question,  and  accepted  the  Lieuten- 
ant-Colonel's leadership  by  imi^ulse.  The  latter  thanked 
him  cordially,  and  then  laughed  aloud,  evidently  because 
of  that  moment  of  hesitation. 

"  Don't  think  I'm  this  way  always,"  he  said.  "  Xever 
when  on  duty  ;  Great  Scott  !  no  man  can  say  that.  Indeed 
I'm  not  badly  off  now.  If  I  willed  it  I  could  be  as  logical 
as  friend  Whitewood — I  could  do  a  problem  in  Euclid. 
But  it  would  be  a  devil  of  an  eftbrt.  You  won't  demand 
it  of  me,  will  you  ?" 

"  It's  an  odd  thing  ui  man,"  he  went  on  gravely,  "  how 
he  can  govern  drunkenness  and  even  sickness.  Just  as 
though  a  powder-magazine  should  have  self-control  enough 
not  to  explode  when  some  one  throws  a  live  coal  into  it. 
The  only  time  I  ever  got  drunk  clear  through,  I  did  it  de- 
liberately. I  was  to  Cairo,  caught  there  by  a  railroad 
breakdown,  and  had  to  stay  over  a  Jiight.  Ever  at  Cairo  ? 
It  is  the  dolefullest,  cursedest  place  !  If  a  man  is  excusable 
anywhere  for  drinking  himself  insensible,  it  is  at  Cairo, 
Illinois.  The  last  thing  I  recollect  of  that  evening  is  that  I 
was  sitting  in  the  bar-room,  feet  against  a  pillar,  debating 
whether  I  would  go  quite  drunk,  or  make  a  fight  and  stay 
sober.  I  said  to  myself,  It's  Cairo,  and  let  myself  go. 
My  next  distinct  recollection  is  that  of  waking  up  in  a 
raih'oad  car.  I  had  been  half  conscious  two  or  three  times 
previously,  but  had  gone  to  sleep  again,  without  taking 
notice  of  my  surroundings.  This  time  I  looked  about  me. 
]Mv  carpet-bag  was  between  my  feet,  and  my  over-coat  in 
the  rack  above  my  head.  I  looked  at  my  watch ;  it  was 
two  in  the  afternoon.  I  turned  to  the  gentleman  who 
shared  my  seat  and  said,  '  Sir,  will  you  have  the  goodness 
to  tell  me  where  this  train  is  going?'  He  stared,  as  you 
may  suppose,  but  replied  that  we  were  going  to  Cincinnati. 
The  devil  we  are  I  thought  I ;  and  I  wanted  to,  go  to  St. 
Louis.  I  afterwards  came  across  a  man  who  was  able  to 
tell  me  how  I  s^ot  on  the  train.    He  said  that  I  came  down 


From     Secession    to     Loyalty.  41 

at  five  in  the  morning,  carpet-bag  and  over-coat  in  hand, 
settled  my  bill  in  the  most  rational  manner  possible,  and 
took  the  omnibus  to  the  railroad  station.  Xow  it's  my  be- 
lief that  I  could  have  staved  ofi"  that  drunken  fit  by  obsti- 
nacy.    I  can  stave  this  one  off.     You  shall  see." 

He  emptied  his  glass,  lighted  a  fresh  segar  big  enough 
to  floor  some  men  without  other  aid,  and  commenced 
walking  the  room,  taking  it  diagonally  from  corner  to  cor- 
ner, so  as  to  gain  a  longer  sweep. 

"  Don't  stir,"  he  said.  "  Don't  mind  me.  Start  another 
segar  and  try  the  ale.  You  won't  ?  What  an  inhuman 
monster  of  abstinence !" 

"  That  is  the  way  they  brmg  us  up  m  Xew  Boston.  We 
are  so  temperate  that  we  are  disposed  to  outlaw  the  rais- 
ing of  rye." 

"  You  mean  in  your  set.  There  must  be  somebody  in 
this  city  who  gets  jolly  !  there  is  everywhere,  so  far  as  I 
have  travelled.  You  will  find  a  great  many  fellows  like 
me,  and  worse,  in  the  old  army.  And  good  reason  for  it ; 
just  think  of  our  life.  All  of  us  couldn't  have  nice  2:>laces  in 
charge  of  arsenals,  or  at  Xewport,  or  on  Governor's 
Island.  I  was  five  years  on  the  frontier  and  in  Califor- 
nia before  I  got  to  Baton  Rouge  ;  and  that  was  not  so  very 
delightful,  by  the  way,  in  yellow  fever  seasons.  Xow 
imagine  yourself  in  command  of  a  comj^any  garrisoniug 
Fort  Wallah- Wallah  on  the  upper  Missouri,  seven  hun- 
dred miles  from  an  opera,  or  a  library,  or  a  lady,  or  a 
mince  j)ie,  or  any  other  civilizing  iufluence.  The  Cap- 
tain is  on  detached  service  somewhere.  You  are  the  First 
Lieutenant,  and  your  only  companion  is  Brown  the  Second 
Lieutenant.  You  mustn't  be  on  sociable  terms  with  the 
men,  because  you  are  an  ofiicer  and  a  gentleman.  You 
have  read  your  few  books,  and  talked  Brown  dry.  There 
is  no  shooting  within  five  miles  of  the  fort ;  and  if  you  go 
beyond  that  distance,  the  Blackfeet  will  raise  your  hair. 
What  is  there  to  save  you  from  suicide  but  old-rye  ? 
That's   one   way  we  come  to  driuk  so.     You  are  lucky. 


42  Miss     R  a  yen  el's     Conversion 

You  have  had  no  temptations,  or  almost  none,  in  tliis  lit- 
tle Puritan  city." 

"  There  are  some  bad  places  and  people  here.  I  don't 
speak  of  it  boastingly." 

"  Are  there  ?"  laughed  Carter.  "  I'm  delighted  to  hear 
it,  by  Jove  !  When  my  father  went  through  college  here, 
there  wasn't  a  chance  to  learn  anythmg  wicked  but  hy- 
pocrisy. Chance  enough  for  that,  judging  from  the  sto- 
ries he  told  me.  So  old  AYliitewood  is  no  longer  the  exact 
model  of  all  the  New  Bostonians  ?" 

"  Xot  even  in  the  University.  There  used  to  be  such  a 
solemn  set  of  Professors  that  they  couldn't  be  recognised 
in  the  cemetery  because  they  had  so  much  the  air  of  tomb- 
stones. But  that  old  dark-blue  lot  has  nearly  died  out, 
and  been  succeeded  by  younger  men  of  quite  a  pleasant 
cerulean  tint.  They  have  studied  in  Europe.  They  like 
Paris  and  Vienna,  and  other  places  that  used  to  be  so 
wicked ;  they  don't  think  such  very  small  lager  of  the 
German  theologians;  they  accept  geology,  and  discuss 
Darwin  with  patience." 

"  Don't  get  out  of  my  range.  Who  the  devil  is  Dar- 
wm  ?  l^ever  mind ;  PU  take  him  for  granted  ;  go  on  with 
your  new-school  Professors. 

"  Oh,  I  havn't  much  to  say  about  them.  They  are  quite 
agreeable.  They  are  what  I  call  men  of  the  world — though 
I  suppose  I  hardly  know  what  a  man  of  the  world  is.  I 
dare  say  I  am  like  the  mouse  who  took  the  first  dog  that 
he  saw  for  the  elephant  that  he  had  heard  of" 

The  Lieutenant-Colonel  stopped  his  walk  and  surveyed 
him,  hands  in  pockets,  a  smile  on  his  lip,  and  a  silent 
horse-laugh  in  his  eye. 

"  Men  of  the  world,  are  they  ?  By  Jove  !  Well ;  per- 
haps so ;  I  havn't  met  them  yet.  But  if  it  comes  to 
pointing  out  men  of  the  world,  allow  me  to  indicate 
our  Louisiana  friend,  Eavenel.  There's  a  fellow  who  can 
do  the  universally  agreeable.  You  couldn't  tell  this  even- 
ing which  he  liked  best,  Whitewood  or  me  ;  and  I'll  be 


Feo:m    Secession    to    Loyalty.  43 

hano-ed  if  tlie  same  man  can  like  both  of  us.  When  lie 
was^talking  with  the  Professor  he  seemed  to  be  saying 
to  himself, '''Whitewood  is  my  blue-book;"  and  when  he 
was  talking  with  me  his  whole  countenance  glowed  with 
an  expression  which  stated  that  '  Carter  is  the  boy.' 
What  a  diplomatist  he  would  make  !  I  like  him  immense- 
ly. He  has  a  charmmg  daughter  too ;  not  beautifol  ex- 
actly, but  Yery  charming." 

C'olburne  felt  an  oppression  which  would  not  allow  him 
to  discuss  the  question.  At  the  same  time  he  was  not  m- 
dignant,  but  only  astonished,  perhaps  also  a  little  pleased, 
at  "the  tone  of  indifference  with  which  the  other  spoke  of 
the  young  lady.  His  soul  was  so  occupied  with  this  new 
tram  of  thought  that  I  doubt  whether  he  heard  und^r- 
standingly  the  conversation  of  his  uiterlocutor  for  the  next 
few  minutes.  Suddenly  it  struck  him  that  Carter  was  en- 
tirely sober,  in  body  and  brain. 

"  Colonel,  wouldn't  you  like  to  go  on  a  pic-nic  ?"  he 
asked  abruptly. 

"  Pic-nic  ?— political  thuig  ?  Why,  yes  ;  thmk  I  ought 
to  like  it ;  help  along  our  regiment." 

"  No,  no  ;  not  poUtical.  Pm  sorry  I  gave  you  such  an 
exalted  expectation  ;  now  you'll  be  disappomted.  I  mean 
an  affair  of  young  ladies,  beaux,  baskets,  paper  parcels, 
sandwiches,  cold  tongue,  biscuits  and  lemonade." 

"  Lemonade  !"  said  Carter  with  a  grimace.  "  Could  a 
•fellow  smoke  ?" 

"  I  take  that  liberty." 

"  Is  Miss  Ravenel  going  ?" 

"  Yes." 

"  I  accept.     How  do  you  go  ?" 

"  In  an  omnibus.  I  will  see  that  you  are  taken  up— say 
at  nuie  o'clock  to-morrow  morning." 


44  Miss    Ravexel's    Conversion 


CHAPTER  IV. 

THE    DRAMATIC    PERSONAGES    GO    ON   A   PIC-NIC,    AND    STUDY 
THE    WAYS    OF   NEW   BOSTON. 

When  the  Lieutenant-Colonel  awoke  in  the  mornmg  he 
did  not  feel  much  like  going  on  a  pic-nic.  He  had  a  slight 
ache  in  the  top  of  his  head,  a  huskiness  in  the  throat,  a 
woolliness  on  the  tongue,  a  feverishness  in  the  cuticle,  and 
a  crawling  tremulousness  in  the  muscles,  as  though  the 
molecules  of  his  flesh  were  separately  alive  and  intertwin- 
ing themselves. '  He  drowsily  called  to  mind  a  red-nosed 
old  gentleman  whom  he  had  seen  at  a  bar,  trying  in  vain 
to  gather  up  his  change  with  shaky  fingers,  and  at  last 
exclaimmg,  "  Curse  the  change  !"  and  walking  off  hastily 
in  evident  mortification. 

"  Ah,  Carter !  you  will  come  to  that  yet,"  thought  the 
Lieutenant-Colonel. — "To  be  sure,"  he  added  after  a 
moment, "  this  sobering  one's  self  by  main  strength  of  ^dll, 
as  I  did  last  night,  is  an  extra  trial,  and  enough  to  shake 
any  man's  system. — But  how  about  breakfast  and  that 
confounded  pic-nic  ?'*  was  his  next  reflection.  "  Carter,  tem- 
perance man  as  you  are,  you  must  take  a  cocktail,  or  you 
won't  be  able  to  eat  a  mouthful  this  morning." 

He  rang ;  ordered  an  eye-opener,  stiff;  swallowed  it,  and 
looked  at  his  watch.  Eight ;  never  mind ;  he  would  wash 
and  shave ;  then  decide  between  breakfast  and  pic-nic. 
Thanks  to  his  martial  education  he  was  a  rapid  dresser, 
and  it  still  lacked  a  quarter  of  nine  when  he  appeared  in 
the  dining  saloon.  He  had  time  therefore  to  eat  a  mutton 
chop,  but  he  only  looked  at  it  with  a  disgusted  eye,  his 
stomach  being  satisfied  with  a  roll  and  a  cup  of  coffee. 
In  the  outer  hall  he  lighted  a  segar,  but  after  smoking 
about  an  inch  of  it,  threw  the  rest  away.     It  was  decid- 


From     Secession     to     Loyalty.  45 

edly  one  of  his  qualmish  mornings,  and  he  was  glad  to 
get  a  full  breath  of  out  of  door  air. 

"  Is  my  hamper  ready  ?"    he  said  to  one  of  the  hall-boys. 

"Sir?" 

"  My  hamper,  confound  you  ;  "  repeated  the  Lieutenant 
Colonel,  who  was  more  irritable  than  usual  this  morning, 
"  The  basket  that  I  ordered  last  night.  Go  and  ask  the 
clerk." 

"  Yes,  su',"  said  the  boy  when  he  returned.  *'  It's  all 
right,  sir.     There  it  is,  sir,  behind  the  door." 

The  omnibus,  a  little  late  of  course,  appeared  about  a 
quarter  past  nine.  Besides  Colburne  it  contained  three 
ladies,  two  of  about  twenty-five  and  one  of  thirty-five,  ac- 
companied by  an  equal  number  of  beardless,  slender, 
jauntily  dressed  youths  whom  the  Lieutenant-Colonel  took 
for  the  ladies'  younger  brothers,  inferring  that  pic-nics  were 
family  aflaii*s  in  Xew  Boston.  Surveying  these  juvenile 
gentlemen  witli  some  contempt,  he  was  about  to  say  to 
Colburne,  "  Yery  sorry,  my  dear  fellow,  but  really  don't 
feel  well  enough  to  go  out  to-day,"  when  he  caught  sight 
of  Miss  Ravenel. 

"  Are  you  going  ?"  she  asked  with  a  blush  which,  was 
so  indescribably  flattering  that  he  instantly  responded, 
"  Yes,  indeed." 

Behind  Miss  Ravenel  came  the  doctor,  who  immediately 
inquhed  after  Carter's  health  with  an  air  of  friendly  m- 
terest  that  contrasted  curiously  with  the  glance  of  sus- 
picion which  he  bent  on  him  as  soon  as  his  back  was 
turned.  Libbie  hastened  into  the  omnibus,  very  much 
afraid  that  her  father  would  order  her  back  to  her  room. 
It  was  only  by  dint  of  earnest  begging  that  she  had  ob- 
tained his  leave  to  join  the  pic-nic,  and  she  knew  that  he 
had  given  it  without  suspecting  that  this  sherry-loving 
army  gentleman  would  be  of  the  party. 

"  But  where  are  your  matrons,  Mr.  Colburne  ?"  asked 
the  doctor.  "  I  see  only  young  ladies,  who  themselves 
need  matronizing." 


46  Miss     Rave  x  el's    Conversiox 

The  beauty  of  thirty-five  looked  graciously  at  him,  and 
judged*!iim  a  perfect  gentleman. 

"  Mrs.  AYhitewood  goes  out  in  her  own  carnage,"  an 
swered  Colburne. 

The  Doctor  bowed,  j^rofessed  himself  delighted  with  the 
arrangements,  wished  them  all  a  pleasant  excursion,  and 
turned  away  with  a  smilmg  face  which,  became  exceed- 
ingly serious  as  he  walked  slowly  up  staii's.  It  was  not 
thus  that  young  ladies  were  allowed  to  go  a  pleasuring 
at  Xew  Orleans.  The  severe  proprieties  of  French  man- 
ners with  regard  to  demoiselles  were  m  considerable  favor 
there.  Her  mother  never  would  have  been  caught  in  this 
way,  he  thought,  and  was  anxious  and  repentant  and  an- 
gry with,  himself,  until  his  daughter  returned. 

In  the  omnibus  Colburne  did  the  introductions  ;  and  now 
Carter  discovered  that  the  beardless  young  gentlemen 
were  not  the  brothers  of  the  ladies,  but  most  evidently 
their  cavaliers ;  and  was  therefore  left  to  infer  that  the 
beaux  of  Xew  Boston  are  blessed  with  an  immortal  youth, 
or  rather  childhood.  He  could  hardly  help  laughing  aloud 
to  thuik  how  he  had  been  caught  in  such  a  nursery  sort  of 
pic-nic.  He  glanced  from  one  downy  face  to  another 
with  a  cool,  mocking  look  wliicli  no  one  understood  but 
Miss  Ravenel,  who  was  the  only  other  person  in  the  party 
to  whom  the  sight  of  such  juvenile  gallants  was  a  rarity. 
She  bit  her  lips  to  repress  a  smile,  and  desperately  opened 
the  conversation. 

"  I  am  so  anxious  to  see  the  Eagle's  Xest,"  she  said  to 
one  of  the  students. 

"  Oh  !  you  never  saw  it  ?"  he  replied. 

There  were  two  things  in  this  response  which  surprised 
Miss  Ravenel.  In  the  first  place  the  young  gentleman 
blushed  violently  at  being  addressed ;  in  the  second,  he 
spoke  in  a  A'ery  hoarse  and  weak  tone,  his  voice  being  not 
yet  established.  Unable  to  think  of  anything  further  to 
say,  he  turned  for  aid  to  the  maiden  of  thirty-five,  be- 
tween whom  and  himself  there  was  a  tender  feeling,  as 


Fko:m     Secession    to     Loyalty.  47 

appeared  openly  later  in  the  day.  She  set  him  on  his  in- 
tellectual pins  by  commencing  a  conversation  on  th6'wood- 
en-spoon  exhibition. 

"  What  is  the  wooden-spoon  ?"  asked  Lillie. 

"  It  is  a  burlesque  honor  in  college,"  answered  the  youth. 
"  It  used  to  be  given  to  the  stupidest  fellow  in  the  gradu- 
ating class.  Xow  it's  given  to  the  j oiliest  fellow — most 
popular  fellow — smartest  fellow,  that  doesn't  take  a  real 
honor." 

"  Allow  me  to  ask,  sir,  are  you  a  candidate  ?"  inquu-ed 
the  Lieutenant-Colonel. 

Miss  Ravenel  cringed  at  this  unprovoked  and  not  very 
brilliant  brutality.  The  collegian  merely  stammered  "  Xo, 
sir,"  and  blushed  immoderately.  He  was  too  much  puz- 
zled by  the  other's  impassable  stare  to  comprehend  the 
sneer  at  once ;  but  he  studied  it  much  during  the  day,  and 
that  night  writhed  over  the  memory  of  it  till  towards 
morning.  Both  Carter  and  the  lady  of  thirty-five  ought  to 
have  been  ashamed  of  themselves  for  taking  unfair  advan- 
tage of  the  simplicity  and  sensitiveness  of  this  lad  ;  but  the 
feminine  sinner  had  at  least  this  excuse,  that  it  was  the 
•angelic  spirit  of  love,  and  not  the  demonaic  spirit  of  scorn, 
which  prompted  her  conduct.  Perceiving  that  her  boy 
was  being  abused,  she  inveigled  him  into  a  corner  of  the 
vehicle,  where  they  could  talk  together  without  mterrup- 
tion.  The  conversation  of  lovers  is  not  usually  mteresting 
to  outsiders  except  as  a  subject  of  laughter  ;  it  is  frequent- 
ly stale  and  flat  to  a  degree  which  seems  incomprehensible 
when  you  consider  the  strong  feelings  of  the  interlocutors. 
This  is  the  ordinary  sort  of  thmg,  at  least  in  ISTew  Bos- 
ton : — 

Lady,  (smiling)  Did  you  go  out  yesterday  ? 

Gent,  (smiling)  Yes. 

Lady.  Where  ? 

Gent.  Only  down  to  the  post-oflice. 

Lady.  JMany  people  in  the  streets  ? 

GGUt.  Not  very  many. 


48  Miss     Ravexel's     Conversion 

And  all  the  while  the  two  persons  are  not  thinking  of 
the  walk,  nor  of  the  post-office,  nor  of  the  people  in  the 
streets,  nor  of  anythmg  of  which  they  speak.  They  are 
thinking  of  each  other ;  they  are  prattling  merely  to  be 
near  each  other ;  they  are  so  full  of  each  other  that  they 
cannot  talk  of  foreign  subjects  interestingly ;  and  so  the 
babble  has  a  meanmg  which  the  unsymi^athetic  bye- 
stander  does  not  comprehend. 

After  circulating  through  the  city  to  pick  up  the  vari- 
ous mvited  ones,  the  omnibus  was  joined  by  a  second  om- 
nibus and  two  or  three  family  rockaways.  The  little  fleet 
of  vehicles  then  sailed  into  the  country,  and  at  the  end  of 
an  hour's  voyage  came  to  anchor  under  the  lee  of  a  wood- 
ed cliff  called  the  Eagle's  Xest,  which  was  the  projected 
site  of  the  j^ic-nic.  Up  the  long  slope  which  formed  the 
back  of  the  cliff,  a  number  of  baskets  and  demijohns  were 
carried  by  the  youthful  beaux  of  the  party  with  a  child- 
like zeal  which  older  gallants  might  not  have  exhibited. 
Carter's  weighty  hamper  was  taken  care  of  by  a  couple 
of  juniors,  who  jumped  to  the  task  on  learning  that  it  be- 
longed to  a  United  States  army  officer.  He  offered  repeat- 
edly to  relieve  them,  but  they  would  not  suffer  it.  In  a* 
roundabout  and  marticulate  manner  they  were  exhibiting 
the  fervent  patriotism  of  the  time,  as  well  as  that  perpet- 
ual worshi])  which  young  men  pay  to  their  superiors  in 
asje  and  knowledo^e  of  the  world.  And  oh  !  how  was  vir- 
tue  rewarded  when  the  basket  was  oj^ened  and  its  contents 
displayed  I  It  was  not  for  the  roast  chicken  that  the 
two  frohcsome  juniors  cared :  the  companion  baskets 
around  were  crammed  with  edibles  of  all  manner  of 
flesh  and  fowl ;  it  was  the  sight  of  six  bottles  of  cham- 
pagne which  made  their  eyes  rejoice.  But  with  a  holy 
horror  equal  to  their  wicked  joy  did  all  the  matrons  of 
the  party,  and  indeed  more  than  half  of  the  younger  peo- 
ple, stare.  Carter's  champagne  was  the  only  spirit  of  a 
vinous  or  ardent  natm*e  present.  And  when  he  produced 
two  bunches  of  segars  from  his  pockets  and  proceeded  to 


From    Secession    to    Loyalty.         49 

distribute  them,  the  moral  excitation  reached  its  height. 
Immediately  there  were  opposing  j^artisaus  in  the  pic-nic  : 
those  who  meant  to  take  a  glass  of  champagne  and  smoke 
a  segar,  if  it  were  only  for  the  wicked  fun  of  the  thing; 
and  those  who  meant,  not  only  that  they  would  not  smoke 
nor  drink  themselves,  but  that  nobody  else  should.  These 
last  formed  little  groups  and  discussed  the  aiiair  with 
conscientious  bitterness.  But  what  to  do  ?  The  atrocity 
puzzled  them  by  its  very  novelty.  The  memory  of  woman 
did  not  go  back  to  the  time  when  an  aristocratic  Xew  Bos- 
ton pic-nic  had  been  s6  desecrated.  I  say  the  memory  of 
vaoraan  advisedly  and  upon  arithmetical  calculation ;  for 
in  this  party  the  age  of  the  males  averaged  at  least  five 
years  less  than  that  of  the  females. 

"  Why  don't  you  stop  it,  Mrs.  Whitewood  ?"  said  the 
maiden  of  thirty-five,  with  gu'lish  enthusiasm.  "  You  are 
the  oldest  person  here."  (Mrs.  Whitewood  did  not  look 
particularly  flattered  by  this  statement.)  "  You  have  a 
perfect  right  to  order  anything."  (Mrs.  Whitewood  looked 
as  if  she  would  like  to  order  the  young  lady  to  let  her 
alone.)  "  If  I  were  you,  I  would  step  out  there  and  say, 
Gentlemen,  this  must  be  stopped." 

Mrs.  Whitewood  might  have  rej^lied.  Why  don't  you 
say  it  yourself? — you  are  old  enough.  But  she  did  not ; 
such  sarcastic  observations  never  occurred  to  her  good- 
natured  soul ;  nor,  had  she  been  endowed  with,  thousands 
of  similar  conceits,  would  she  have  dared  utter  one.  It 
was  impossible  to  rub  her  up  to  the  business  of  confront- 
ing and  puttmg  down  the  adherents  of  the  champagne 
basket.  She  did  think  of  speaking  to  Lieutenant-Colonel 
Carter  privately  about  it,  but  before  she  could  decide 
in  what  terms  to  address  him,  the  last  bottle  had  been 
cracked,  and  then  of  course  it  was  useless  to  say  anything. 
So  m  much  horror  of  spirit  and  with  many  self-reproaches 
for  her  weakness,  she  gazed  helplessly  upon  Avhat  she 
considered  a  scene  of  wicked  revelry.  In  fact  there  was 
C 


50  Miss     Ravexel's     Con  version 

a  good  deal  of  jollity  and  racket.  The  six  bottles  of 
champagne  made  a  pretty  strong  dose  for  the  unaccus- 
tomed heads  of  the  dozen  lads  and  three  or  four  young 
ladies  Avho  finished  them.  Carter  himself,  cloyed  with 
the  surfeit  of  yesterday,  took  almost  nothing,  to  the  ^von- 
der,  and  even,  I  suspect,  to  the  disappomtment  of  the 
temperance  party.  But  he  made  himself  dreadfully  ob- 
noxious by  urging  his  Sillery  upon  every  one,  including 
the  Whitewoods  and  the  maiden  of  thirty-five.  The  latter 
declmed  the  profiered  glass  with  an  air  of  viituous  mdig- 
nation  which  struck  him  as  uncivil,  more  particularly  as 
it  evoked  a  triumphant  smile  from  the  adherents  of  lem- 
onade. With  a  cruelty  without  parallel,  and  for  which  I 
shall  not  attempt  to  excuse  him,  he  immediately  offered 
the  bumper  to  the  young  gentleman  on  whose  arm  the 
lady  leaned,  with  the  observation,  "  Madam,  I  hope  you 
will  allow  your  son  to  take  a  little." 

The  unhappy  couple  walked  away  in  a  speechless  con- 
dition. The  two  juniors  heretofore  mentioned  burst  into 
hysterical  gulphs  of  laughter,  and  then  pretended  that  it 
was  a  smiultaneous  attack  of  coughmg.  There  were  no 
more  attempts  to  put  down  the  audacious  army  gentle- 
man, and  he  was  accorded  that  elbow-room  which  we  all 
grant  to  a  bull  in  a  china-shop.  He  was  himself  somewhat 
shocked  by  the  sensation  which  he  had  produced. 

"  TVhat  an  awful  row  !''  he  whispered  to  Colburne.  "  I 
have  plunged  this  nursery  into  a  state  of  civil  war.  When 
you  said  i:)ic-nic,  how  could  I  suppose  that  it  was  a  Sab- 
bath-school excursion  ?  By  the  way,  it  isn't  Sunday,  is 
it  ?  Do  you  always  do  it  this  way  m  Xew  Boston  ?  But 
you  are  not  immaculate.  You  do  some  things  here  which 
would  draw  down  the  frown  of  society  m  other  places. 
Look  at  those  couples — a  young  fellow  and  a  girl — stroll- 
ing off  by  themselves  among  the  thickets.  Some  of  them 
have  been  out  of  sight  for  half  an  hour.  I  should  think  it 
would  make  talk.  I  should  thmk  Mrs.  Whitewood,  Avho 
seems  to  be  matron  in  chief,  would  stop  it.     I  tell  you,  it 


FE0  3r     Secessiox     to     Loyalty.  51 

wouldn't  do  iii  XewYork  or  Philadelphia,  or  any  such  place, 
except  among  the  lower  classes.  You  don't  catch  our  young 
Louisianienne  making  a  dryad  of  herself.  I  heard  one  of 
these  lads  ask  her  to  take  a  walk  in  the  grove  on  top  of  the 
hill,  and  I  saw  her  decline  with  a  blush  which  certainly 
expressed  astonishment,  and,  I  think,  mdignation.  ]^ow 
how  the  devil  can  these  old  girls,  who  have  lived  long 
enough  to  be  able  to  put  two  and  two  together,  be  so 
dem'd  inconsistent  ?  After  regarding  me  with  horror  for 
offering  them  a  glass  of  champagne,  they  will  commit  im- 
prudences which  make  them  appear  as  if  they  had  drunk 
a  bottle  of  it.  And  yet,  just  look.  I  have  too  much  deli- 
cacy to  ask  one  of  those  young  ones  to  stroll  off  with  me 
in  the  bushes. — Won't  you  have  a  segar  ?  I  don't  believe 
Miss  Ravenel  objects  to  tobacco.  They  smoke  in  Louisia- 
na ;  yes,  and  they  chew  and  di-ink,  too.  Shocking  fast  set. 
I  really  hope  the  child  never  will  many  down  there.  I 
take  an  mterest  in  her.  You  and  I  will  go  out  there  some 
day,  and  reconquer  her  patrimony,  and  put  her  in  possess- 
ion of  it,  and  then  ask  her  which  she  will  have." 

Colburne  had  already  talked  a  good  deal  with  Miss  Ra- 
venel. She  was  so  discouraging  to  the  student  beaux, 
and  Carter  had  been  so  general  in  his  attentions  with  a 
view  to  getting  the  champagne  into  circulation,  that  she 
had  fallen  chiefly  to  the  young  lawyer.  As  to  the  women, 
she  did  not  much  enjoy  theu'  conversation.  At  that  time 
everybody  at  the  Xorth  was  passionately  loyal,  especially 
those  who  would  not  m  any  chance  be  called  upon  to  fight 
— and  this  loyalty  was  expressed  towards  i^ersons  of  se- 
cessionist proclivities  with  a  frank  energy  which  the  lat- 
ter considered  brutal  incivility.  From  the  male  sex  Miss 
Ravenel  obtained  some  compassion  or  polite  forbearance, 
but  from  her  own  very  little  ;  and  the  result  was  that  she 
avoided  ladies,  and  might  perhaps  have  been  driven  to 
suffer  the  boy  beaux,  only  that  she  could  make  sure  of  the 
society  of  Colburne.  Important  as  this  young  gentleman 
was  to  her,  she  could  not  forbear  teasmg  him  concerning 


52  Miss    Ravexel's     Conversion 

the  local  j^eculiarities  of  Xew  Boston.  This  afternoon  she 
was  satirical  upon  the  juvenile  gallants. 

"  You  seem  to  be  the  only  man  in  New  Boston,"  she 
said.  "  I  suppose  all  the  males  are  executed  when  they  are 
found  guilty  of  being  twenty-one.  How  came  you  to  es- 
cape ?  Perhaps  you  arc  the  executioner.  Why  don't  you 
do  your  office  on  the  Lieutenant-Colonel  ?" 

"  I  should  like  to,"  answered  Colbume. 

Miss  Ravenel  colored,  but  gave  no  other  sign  of  com- 
prehension. 

"  I  don't  like  old  beaux,"  persisted  Colburnc. 

"  Oh  !  I  do.  When  I  left  Xew  Orleans  I  parted  from  a 
beau  of  forty." 

"  Forty !     How  could  you  come  away  ?" 

"  Why,  you  know  that  I  hated  to  leave  Xew  Orleans." 

"  Yes  ;  but  I  never  knew  the  reason  before.  Did  you 
say  forty  ?" 

"Yes,  sir;  just  forty.  Is  there  anythmg  strange  in  a 
man  of  forty  being  agreeable  ?  I  don't  see  that  you  Xew 
Bostonians  find  it  difficult  to  like  ladies  of  forty.  But  I 
havn't  told  you  the  worst.  I  have  another  beau,  whom  I 
like  better  than  anybody,  who  is  fifty-five." 

"  Youi' father." 

"  You  are  very  clever.  As  you  are  so  bright  to-day 
perhaps  you  can  explain  a  mystery  to  me.  Why  is  it  that 
these  grown  women  are  so  fond  of  the  society  of  these 
students  ?  They  don't  seem  to  care  to  get  a  word  from 
Lieutenant-Colonel  Carter.  I  don't  think  they  are  crazy 
after  you.  They  are  altogether  absorbed  in  makmg  the 
time  pass  pleasantly  to  these  boys." 

"  It  is  so  in  all  little  university  towns.  Can't  you  un- 
derstand it  ?  When  a  girl  is  fifteen  a  student  is  naturally  a 
more  attractive  object  to  her  than  a  mechanic  or  a  shop- 
keeper's boy.  She  thinks  that  to  be  a  student  is  the  chief 
end  of  man ;  that  the  world  was  created  in  order  that 
there  might  be  students.  Frequently  he  is  a  southerner  ; 
and  you  know  how  charming  southerners  are." 


From    Secession    to    Loyalty.  53 

"  Oh,  I  know  all  about  it." 

"  Well,  the  girl  of  fifteen  takes  a  fancy  to  a  freshman. 
She  flu-ts  with,  him  all  through  the  four  years  of  his  under- 
graduate course.  Then  he  departs,  promising  to  come 
back,  but  never  keeping  his  promise.  Perhaps  by  this 
time  she  is  really  attached  to  him  ;  and  that,  or  habit,  or 
her  orio-inal  taste  for  romance  and  strano-ers,  oives  her  a 
cant  for  life  ;  she  never  flirts  with  anything  but  a  student 
afterwards ;  can't  relish  a  man  who  has'nt  a  flavor  of  Greel? 
and  Latin.  Generally  she  sticks  to  the  senior  class.  When 
she  gets  into  the  thirties  she  sometimes  enters  the  theo- 
logical seminary  m  search  of  prey.  But  she  never  likes 
anything  which  hasn't  a  student  smack.  It  reminds  one 
of  the  story  that  when  a  shark  has  once  tasted  human 
flesh  he  will  not  eat  any  other  unless  driven  to  it  by  hun- 
ger." 

"  What  a  brutal  comparison  !" 

"  One  consequence  of  this  fascination,"  continued  Col- 
burne,  "  is  that  Xew  Boston  is  full  of  unmarried  females. 
There  is  a  story  in  college  that  a  student  threw  a  stone  at 
a  dog,  and,  missmg  him,  hit  seven  old  maids.  On  the 
other  hand  there  are  some  s^ood  results.  These  old  o-iris 
are  bookish  and  mature,  and  their  conversation  is  im- 
proving to  the  under-graduates.  They  sacrifice  them- 
selves, as  woman's  wont  is,  for  the  good  of  others." 

"  If  you  ever  come  to  Xew  Orleans  I  will  show  you  a 
fascinating  lady  of  thirty.  She  is  my  aunt — or  cousin — I 
hardly  know  which  to  call  her — Mrs.  Larue.  She  has 
beautiful  black  hair  and  eyes.  She  is  a  true  type  of  Louis- 
iana." 

"  And  you  are  not.    What  right  had  you  to  be  a  blonde  ?" 

"  Because  I  am  my  father's  daughter.  His  eyes  are  blue. 
He  came  from  the  up-country  of  South  Carolina.  There 
are  plenty  of  blondes  there." 

This  conversation,  the  reader  j^erceives,  is  not  monu- 
mentally grand  or  important.  Xext  in  flatness  to  the 
ordinary  talk  of  two  lovers  comes,  I  think,  the  ordinary 


54  Miss    Raven  el's     Coxyeusiox 

talk  of  two  young  persons  of  the  opposite  sexes.  In  the 
first  place  they  are  young,  and  therefore  have  few  great 
ideas  to  interchange  and  hut  limited  ranges  of  experience 
to  compare ;  in  the  second  place  they  are  hampered  and 
embarrassed  by  the  mute  but  potent  consciousness  of  sex 
and  the  alai-ming  possibility  of  mamage.  I  am  inclined 
to  give  much  credit  to  the  saying  that  only  married  people 
ancl  vicious  people  are  agreeably  fluent  in  an  assembly  of 
^DOth  sexes.  When  therefore  I  report  the  conversation  of 
these  two  uncorrupted  young  persons  as  bemg  of  a  moder- 
ately dull  quality,  I  flatter  myself  that  I  am  publishing  the 
very  tmth  of  nature.  But  it  follows  that  we  had  best 
finish  with  this  pic-nic  as  soon  as  possible.  We  will  sup- 
pose the  chickens  and  sandwiches  eaten,  the  champagne 
drunk,  the  segars  smoked,  the  party  gathered  into  the  om- 
nibusses  and  rockaways,  and  the  vehicle  in  which  we  are 
chiefly  interested  at  the  door  of  the  Xew  Boston  House. 
As  the  Lieutenant-Colonel  enters  with  Miss  Ravenel  a 
waiter  hands  him  a  telegraphic  message. 

"  Excuse  me,"  he  says,  and  reads  as  they  ascend  the 
stairs  together.  On  the  parlor  floor  he  halts  and  takes 
her  hand  with  an  air  of  more  seriousness  than  he  has  yet 
exhibited. 

"  Miss  Ravenel,  I  must  bid  you  good-bye.  I  am  so  sorry ! 
I  leave  for  Washington  immediately.  My  application  for 
extension  of  leave  has  been  refused.  I  do  sincerely  hope 
that  I  shall  meet  you  again." 

"  Good  bye,"  she  simply  said,  not  unaware  that  her 
hand  had  been  pressed,  and  for  that  reason  unable  or  un- 
willing to  add  more. 

He  left  her  there,  hurried  to  his  room,  packed  his  valise, 
and  was  oft"  in  twenty  minutes  ;  for  when  it  was  necessary 
to  move  quick  he  could  put  on  a  rate  of  speed  not  easily 
equalled. 

jNliss  Ravenel  walked  to  her  father's  room  in  deep  medi- 
tation. Without  stating  the  fact  in  words  she  felt  that 
the  presence  of  this  mature,  masculine,  worldly  gentleman 


From     Secession    to     Loyalty.  55 

of  the  army  was  agreeable  to  her,  and  that  his  farewell 
had  been  an  unpleasant  surprise.  If  he  was  inebriate,  dis- 
sipated, dangerous,  it  must  be  remembered  that  she  did 
not  know  it.  In  simply  smelling  of  wine  and  segars  he 
had  an  odoi  of  Louisiana,  to  which  she  had  been  accus- 
tomed from  childhood  even  in  the  grave  society  of  her 
father's  choice,  and  whicli  was  naturally  grateful  to  the 
homesick  sensibilities  of  the  exiled  girl. 

For  the  last  hour  or  two  Doctor  Ravenel  had  paced 
his  room  in  no  little  excitement.  He  was  a  notably  indus- 
trious man,  and  had  devoted  the  day  to  writmg  an  article 
on  the  mineralogy  of  Arkansas  ;  but  even  this  labor,  the 
utterance  of  a  life-long'  scientific  enthusiasm,  could  not 
divert  him  from  what  I  may  call  maternal  anxieties. 
Why  did  I  let  her  go  on  that  silly  expedition  ?  he  repeated 
to  himself     It  is  the  last  time  ;  absolutely  the  last. 

At  this  moment  she  entered  the  room  and  kissed  him 
with  more  than  ordinary  efl:usion.  •  She  meant  to  forestall 
his  expected  rej^roof  for  her  unexpectedly  long  absence  ; 
moreover  she  felt  a  very  little  lonely  and  in  need  of  unus- 
ual affection  in  consequence  of  that  farewell. 

"  My  dear !  how  late  you  are  !"  said  the  unappeased 
Doctor.  "  How  could  you  stay  out  so  ?  How  could  you 
do  it  ?  The  idea  of  staymg  out  till  dusk ;  I  am  astonished. 
Really,  girls  have  no  prudence.  They  are  no  more  fit  to 
take  care  of  themselves  amid  the  dangers  and  stupidities  of 
society  than  so  many  goslings  among  the  wheels  and  hoofs 
of  a  crowded  street." 

Do  not  suppose  that  Miss  Ravenel  bore  these  reproofs 
withL  the  serene  countenance  of  Fra  Angelico's  seraphs, 
softly  beaming  out  of  a  halo  of  eternal  love.  She  was 
very  much  mortified,  very  much  hurt  and  even  a  little  an- 
gry. A  hard  word  from  her  father  was  an  exceeding 
great  trial  to  her.  The  tears  came  into  her  eyes  and  the 
color  into  her  cheeks  and  neck,  while  all  her  slender  form 
trembled,  not  visibly,  but  consciously,  as  if  her  veins  Avere 
filled  with  quicksilver. 


50  jM  I  s  s     11 A  V  K  X  el's     C  O  X  V  E  R  S  I  O  X 

"  Late  I  AVhy,  no  papa  !"  ( Running  to  the  window  and 
pointing  to  the  crimson  west.)  "  Why,  the  sun  is  only 
just  gone  down.     Look  for  yourself,  papa." 

"  Well ;  that  is  too  late.  If  for  nothing  else,  just  think 
of  the  dew, — the  chill.  I  am  not  pleased.  I  tell  you, 
Lillie,  I  am  not  pleased." 

"  Xow,  papa,  you  are  right  hard.  I  do  say  you  are  right 
cruel.  How  could  I  help  myself?  I  couldn't  come  home 
alone.  I  couldn't  order  the  j^ic-nic  to  break  up  and  come 
home  when  I  pleased.  How  could  I  ?  Just  tliink  of  it, 
i:)apa." 

The  Doctor  was  walking  up  and  down  the  room  with  his 
liands  behind  his  back  and  his  head  bent  forward.  He  had 
hardly  looked  at  his  daughter :  he  never  looked  at  her 
when  he  scolded  her.  He  gave  her  a  side-glance  now,  and 
seeing  her  eyes  full  of  tears,  he  was  unable  to  answer  her 
either  good  or  evil.  The  earnestness  of  his  affection  for  her 
made  hini  very  sensitive  and  sore  and  cowardly,  in  case  of 
a  misunderstandmg.  She  was  looking  at  him  all  the  time 
that  she  talked,  her  face  full  of  her  troubled  eagerness  to 
exculpate  herself;  and  now,  though  he  said  not  a  word,  she 
knew  him  well  enough  to  see  that  he  had  relented  from  his 
anger.  Encouraged  by  this  discovery  she  regained  in  a 
moment  or  two  her  self-possession.  She  guessed  the  real 
cause,  or  at  least  the  strongest  cause  of  his  vexation,  and 
proceeded  to  dissipate  it. 

"  Papa,  I  think  there  must  be  something  important  go- 
ing on  in  the  army.  Lieutenant-Colonel  Carter  has 
received  a  telegraph,  and  is  going  on  by  the  next  train." 

He  halted  in  his  walk  and  faced  her  with  a  childlike 
smile  of  pleasure. 

"  Has  he,  indeed  !"  he  said  as  gaily  as  if  he  had  heard  of 
some  piece  of  personal  good  fortune.  Then,  more  gravely 
and  with  a  censorious  countenance,  "  Quite  time  he  went, 
I  should  say.  It  doesn't  look  well  for  an  officer  to  be 
enjoying  himself  here  m  Barataria  when  his  men  may  be 
fiorhtinoj  in  Yii'ginia." 


From     Secessiox    to     Loyalty.  57 

Miss  Ravenel  thouglit  of  suggesting  that  the  Lieu- 
tenant-Colonel had  been  on  sick  leave,  but  concluded  that 
it  would  not  be  well  to  attemjDt  his  defence  at  the  present 
moment. 

"  Well  Lillie,"  resumed  the  Doctor,  after  takmg  a  cou- 
pleof  leisurely  turns  up  and  down  the  room,  "  I  don't  know 
but  I  have  been  unjust  in  blammg  you  for  coming  home 
so  late.  I  must  confess  that  I  don't  see  how  you  could 
help  it.  The  fault  was  not  yours.  It  resulted  from  the 
very  nature  of  all  such  expeditions.  It  is  one  of  the  m- 
conveuiences  of  pic-nics  that  common  sense  is  never  in- 
vited or  never  has  time  to  go.  I  wonder  that  Mrs. 
Whitewood  should  permit  such  iiTational  procedures." 

The  Doctor  was  somewhat  apt  to  exaggerate,  whether 
in  j)raise  or  blame,  when  he  became  interested  in  a  subject. 

"  Well,  well,  I  am  chiefly  in  fault  myself,"  he  concluded. 
"  It  must  be  the  last  time.  My  dear,  you  had  better  take 
ofi*  your  things  and  get  ready  for  tea." 

While  Lillie  was  engaged  on  her  toilette  the  Doctor  co- 
gitated, and  came  to  the  conclusion  that  he  must  say  some- 
thing against  this  Carter,  but  that  he  had  better  say  it  in- 
directly. So,  as  they  sauntered  down  stairs  to  the  tea- 
table  he  broke  out  upon  the  bibulous  gentry  of  Louisiana. 

"  To-day's  Herald  will  amuse  you,"  he  said.  "  It  con- 
tains the  proceedings  of  a  meeting  of  the  planters  of  St. 
Dominic  Parish.  They  are  opposed  to  freedom.  They 
object  to  the  nineteenth  century.  They  mean  to  smash 
the  United  States  of  America.  And  for  all  this  they  pledge 
their  lives,  their  fortunes,  and  their  sacred  honor.  It  sur- 
passes all  the  jokes  in  Joe  Miller.  To  think  of  those 
whiskey-soaked,  negro-whipj)ing,  man-slaughtering  ruffi- 
ans, with  a  bottle  of  Louisiana  rum  in  one  hand  and  a  cat- 
o'-nine-tails  in  the  other,  a  revolver  in  one  pocket  and  a 
boAvie-knife  in  the  other,  drunken,  swearing,  gambling, 
depraved  as  Satan,  with  their  black  wives  and  mulatto 
children — to  think  of  such  ruffians  prating  about  their 
sacred  honor !  Whv,  they  absolutely  don't  understand 
*    •    C2 


58  Miss     Rayexel's     Conversion 

the  meaniiig  of  the  words.  They  have  heard  of  respectable 
communities  possessing  such  a  quality  as  honor,  and  they 
feel  bound  to  talk  as  if  they  possessed  it.  The  pirates  of 
the  Isle  of  Pines  might  as  well  pledge  their  honesty  and 
humanity.  Their  lives,  their  fortunes,  and  their  sacred 
honor  !  Their  lives  are  not  worth  the  powder  that  will 
blow  them  out  of  existence.  Their  fortunes  will  be  Avorth 
less  in  a  couple  of  years.  And  as  for  their  sacred  honor, 
it  is  a  pure  figment  of  ignorant  imaginations  made  deliri- 
ous by  bad  whiskey.  That  drinkmg  is  a  ruinous  vice. 
When  I  see  a  man  soaking  himself  with  sherry  at  a 
friend's  table,  after  having  previously  soaked  with  whis- 
key in  some  groggery,  I  thmk  I  see  the  devil  behind  his 
chair  putting  the  mfernal  mark  on  the  back  of  his  coat. 
And  it  is  such  a  common  vice  in  Louisiana.  There  is 
hardly  a  young  man  free  from  it.  In  the  country  districts, 
when  a  young  fellow  is  paying  attention  to  a  young  lady, 
the  parents  don't  ask  whether  he  is  in  the  habit  of  gettmg 
drunk;  they  take  that  for  granted,  and  only  concern 
themselves  to  know  whether  he  gets  cross-drunk  or  amia- 
ble-drunk. If  the  former,  they  have  some  hesitation ;  if 
the  latter,  they  consent  to  the  match  thankfully." 

jNIiss  Ravenel  understood  perfectly  that  her  father  was 
cutting  at  Lieutenant-Colonel  Carter  over  the  shoulders  of 
the  convivial  gentlemen  of  Louisiana.  She  thought  him 
unjust  to  both  parties,  but  concluded  that  she  would  not 
aro-ue  the  question  ;  being  conscious  that  the  subject  was 
rather  too  delicately  near  to  her  feelings  to  be  discussed 
without  danger  of  disclosures. 

"  "Well,  they  are  rushing  to  their  doom,"  resumed  the 
Doctor,  turning  aside  to  general  reflections,  either  because 
such  was  the  tendency  of  his  mind,  or  because  he  thought 
that  he  had  demolished  the  Lieutenant-Colonel.  "  They 
couldn't  wait  for  whiskey  to  finish  them,  as  it  does  other 
barbarous  races.  They  must  call  on  the  political  mount- 
ains to  crush  them.  Their  slaveholding  Sodom  will  perish 
for  the  lack  of  five  just  men,  or  a  single  just  idea.  It  must 


Fko^c     Secession     to     Loyalty.  59 

be  razed  and  got  out  of  the  way,  like  any  other  obstacle 
to  the  progress  of  humanity.  It  must  make  room  for 
somethuig  more  consonant  with  the  railroad,  electric-tel- 
egraph, priating-press,  inductiYe  philosophy,  and  practical 
Christianity." 


CHAPTER  Y 

THE     DRAMATIC     PEESOXAGES    GET  XEWS   FEOil   BULL   EUN. 

"  Papa,  are  we  gouig  to  stay  in  New  Boston  forever  ?" 
asked  Miss  Ravenel. 

"  My  dear,  I  am  afraid  we  shall  both  have  to  die  some 
day,  after  which  we  can't  expect  to  stay  here,  pleasant  as 
it  might  be,"  replied  the  Doctor. 

"  ISTonsense,  papa  !  You  know  what  I  mean.  Are  you 
o-omg  to  make  Xew  Boston  a  pemianent  place  of  resi- 
dence ?" 

"  How  can  I  tell,  my  dear  ?  We  can't  go  back  to  New 
Orleans  at  present ;  and  where  else  should  we  go  ?  You 
know  that  I  must  consult  economy  in  my  choice  of  a  resi- 
dence. My  bank  deposits  are  not  monstrous,  and  there  is 
no  tellmg  how  long  I  may  be  cut  off  from  my  resources. 
New  Boston  presents  two  advantages ;  it  gives  me  some 
employment  and  it  is  tolerably  cheap.  Through  the 
friendliness  of  these  excellent  professors  I  am  kept  con- 
stantly busy,  and  am  not  paid  so  very  badly,  though  I 
can't  say  that  I  am  m  any  danger  of  growmg  suddenly 
rich.  Then  I  have  the  run  of  the  university  library,  which 
is  a  great  thmg.  Finally,  where  else  m  the  United  States 
should  we  find  a  prettier'or  pleasanter  little  city  ?" 

"  The  people  are  dreadfully  poky." 

"  Mj  daughter,  I  wish  you  would  have  the  goodness  to 
converse  with  me  m  EngHsh.     I  never  became  thoroughly 


00  Miss    Ravenel's     Con  version 

familiar  with  the  Gohl  Coast  dialects,  and  not  even  with 
the  court  language  of  Ashantee." 

"  It  isn't  Ashantee  at  all.  Everj^body  says  poky ;  and 
it  is  real  poky  in  you  to  pretend  not  to  understand  it; 
don't  you  think  so  yourself  now?  Besides  these  Xew 
Bostonians  are  so  ferociously  federal !  I  can't  say  a  word 
for  the  South  hut  the  women  glare  at  me  as  though  they 
wanted  to  hang  me  on  a  sour  apple  tree,  like  Jeff  Davis." 

"  My  dear,  if  one  of  these  loyal  ladies  should  say  a  word 
for  her  own  lawful  government  in  New  Orleans,  she 
would  be  worse  than  glared  at.  I  doubt  Avhether  the 
Avild-mannered  cut-throats  of  your  native  city  would  let 
her  oif  with  plain  hanging.  Let  us  thank  Heaven  that 
we  are  among  civilized  people  who  only  glare  at  us,  and 
do  not  stick  us  under  the  fifth  rib,  when  we  differ  with 
them  in  opinion." 

"  Oh  papa  !  how  bitter  you  are  on  the  southerners  !  It 
seems  to  me  you  must  forget  that  you  were  bom  in  South 
Carolina  and  have  lived  twenty-five  years  in  Louisiana." 

"  Oh  !  oh  !  the  beautiful  reason  for  defendmg  organized 
barbarism  !  Suppose  I  had  had  the  misfortune  of  being 
born  in  the  Isle  of  Pines  ;  would  you  have  me  therefore 
be  the  apologist  of  piracy  ?  I  do  hope  that  I  am  perfectly 
free  from  the  prejudices  and  trammels  of  geographical 
morality.  My  body  was  born  amidst  slavery,  but  my 
conscience  soon  found  the  underground  raihoad.  I  am  not 
boasting  ;  at  least  I  hope  not.  I  have  had  no  plantations, 
no  patrimony  of  human  flesh ;  very  few  temptations,  in 
short,  to  bow  down  to  the  divinity  of  Ashantee.  I  sin- 
cerely thank  Heaven  for  these  three  thmgs,  that  I  never 
owned  a  slave,  that  I  was  educated  at  the  north,  and  that 

1  have  been  able  to  visit  the  free  civilization  of  Europe." 

"  But  why  did  you  live  in  Louisiana  if  it  was  such  a 
Sodom,  papa  ?" 

"  All !  there  you  have  me.  Perhaps  it  was  because  I 
had  an  expensive  daughter  to  support,  and  could  pick  up 
four  or  five  thousand  dollars  a  vear  there  easier  than   anv- 


Fp.  OM     Secession     to     Loyalty. 


61 


where  else.  But  you  see  I  am  suffering  for  having  given 
my  countenance  to  sin.  I  have  escaped  out  of  the  burning 
city,  like  Lot,  with  only  my  family.  It  is  my  daily  won- 
der, Lillie,  that  you  are  not  turned  into  a  pillar  of  salt. 
The  only  reason  probably  is  that  the  age  of  mh*acles  is 
over." 

"  Papa,  when  I  am  as  old  as  you  are,  and  you  are  as 
young  as  I  am,  I'll  satirize  you  dreadfully.— Well,  if  we 
are  gomg  to  live  m  Xew  Boston,  why  can't  we  keep 
house  ?" 

"It  costs  more  for.  two  people  to  keep  house  than  to 
board.  Our  furniture,  rent,  food,  fiiel,  lights  and  servants 
would  come  to  more  than  the  eighteen  dollars  a  week 
which  we  pay  here,  now  that  we  have  given  up  our  par- 
lor.    In  a  civilized  country  elbow-room  is  expensive." 

"  But  is  it  exactly  nice  to  stay  forever  in  a  hotel  ? 
English  travellers  make  such  an  outcry  about  American 
families  living  in  hotels." 

"  I  know.  At  the  bottom  it  is  bad.  But  it  is  a  sad 
necessity  of  American  society.  So  long  as  we  have  un- 
trained servants — black  barbarians  at  the  South  and  mu- 
tinous foreigners  at  the  Xorth — many  American  house- 
keepers will  throw  down  their  keys  in  despair  and  rush  for 
refuge  to  the  hotels.  And  numbers  j^roduce  respectability, 
at  least  in  a  democracy." 

"  So  we  must  give  up  the  idea  of  a  nice  little  house  all 
to  ourselves." 

"  I  am  afraid  so,  unless  I  should  haj^pen  to  find  diamonds 
in  the  basaltic  formation  of  the  Eagle's  Xest." 

The  Doctor  falls  to  his  writing,  and  Miss  Ravenel  to 
her  embroidery.  Presently  the  young  lady,  without 
having  anythmg  m  particular  to  say,  is  conscious  of  a  de- 
sire for  further  conversation,  and,  after  searching  for  a  sub- 
ject, begins  as  follows. 

"  Papa,  have  you  been  in  the  parlor  this  mornmg  ?" 

"  Yes,  my  dear,"  answers  papa,  scratching  away  des- 
perately with  his  old-fashioned  quill  pen. 


62  Miss     R  a  y  e  x  e  l  '  s     Conversion 

"  Whom  did  you  see  there  V" 

"  See  ? — Where  ? — Oh,  I  saw  Mr.  Andrew  Smith,"  says 
the  Doctor,  at  first  absent-minded,  then  looking  a  little 
quizzical. 

"  What  did  he  have  to  say  ?" 

"  Why,  my  dear,  he  spoke  so  low  that  I  couldn't  hear 
what  he  said." 

"  He  did  !"  responds  Miss  Ravenel,  all  interest.  "  What 
did  that  mean  ?    Why  didn't  you  ask  him  to  repeat  it  ?" 

"  Because,  my  dear,  he  wasn't  talking  to  me ;  he  was 
talking  to  Mrs.  Smith." 

Here  Miss  Ravenel  perceives  that  her  habitual  curiosity 
is  beino:  made  fun  of,  and  replies,  "  Papa,  you  ought  to  be 
ashamed  of  yourself." 

"  My  child,  you  must  give  me  some  chance  to  write," 
retorts  the  Doctor  ;  "  or  else  you  must  learn  to  sit  a  little 
in  your  own  room.  Of  course  I  prefer  to  have  you  here, 
l)ut  I  do  demand  that  you  accord  me  some  infinitesimal  de- 
gree of  consideration." 

Father  and  daughter  used  to  have  many  conversations 
not  very  dissimilar  to  the  above.  It  was  a  constant  prat- 
tle when  they  were  together,  unless  the  Doctor  raised  the 
standard  of  revolt  and  refused  to  talk  in  order  that  he 
mio-ht  work.  Ever  since  Lillie's  earliest  recollection  they 
had  been  on  these  same  terms  of  sociability,  companion- 
ship, almost  equality.  The  intimacy  and  democracy  of  the 
relation  arose  partly  from  the  Doctor's  extreme  fondness 
for  children  and  young  people,  and  partly  from  the  fact 
that  he  had  lost  his  wife  early,  so  that  in  his  household 
life  he  had  for  years  dej^ended  for  sympathy  upon  his 
daughter. 

Twice  or  thrice  every  morning  the  Doctor  was  obliged 
to  remonstrate  against  Lillie's  talkativeness,  something 
after  the  manner  of  an  afiectionate  old  cat  who  allows  her 
pussy  to  jump  on  her  back  and  bite  her  ears  for  a  half 
hour  together,  but  finally  im2D0ses  quiet  by  a  velvety  and 
harmless  cufling.     Occasionally  he   avenged   himself  for 


Feom     Secession    to     Loyalty.  G3 

her  untimely  demands  on  his  attention  by  reading  to  her 
what    he    considered  a  successful   passage  of  the  article 
Tvliich  he  might  then  be  composing.     In  this,  however,  he 
had  not  the  least  intention  of  j^nnishment,  but   supposed 
that  he  was  conferring  a  pleasure.     It  was  an    essential 
element  of  this  genial,  social,  sympathetic  nature  to  be- 
lieve that  whatever  interested  him  would  necessarily  in- 
terest those  whom  he  loved  and  even  those  with  whom  he 
simply  came  in  contact.     When  Lillie  offered  corrections 
on  his  style,  which  happened  frequently,  he  rarely  hesi- 
tated to  accejit  them..    Yanity  he  had  none,  or  at  any  rate 
displayed  none,  except  on  two  subjects,  his  daughter  and 
his  scientific  fame.      As  a  proof  of  this  last  he  gloried  in 
an  extensive  correspondence  with  European  savants,  and 
made  Lillie  read  every  one  of  those  queer  shaped  letters, 
written  on  semi-transparent  paper  and  with  foreign  stamps 
and  postmarks  on  their  envelopes,   which    reached    him 
from  across  the  Atlantic.     Although    medicine    was    his 
profession  and  had  provided  him  with  bread,  he  had  lat- 
terly fallen  in  love  with  mineralogy,  and  in  his  vacation 
wanderings  though  that  mountainous  belt  which  runs  from 
the  Carolinas  westward  to  Arkansas  and  Missouri  he  had 
discovered  some  new  species  which  were  eagerly  sought 
for  by  the  directors  of  celebrated  European  collections. 
Great  was  his  delight  at  receiving  in  Xew  Boston  a  weighty 
box  of  specimens  which  he  had  shipped  as  freight  from 
Xew    Orleans   just    previous    to  his  own  departure,  but 
which  for  two  months  he  had  mourned  over  as  lost.      It 
dowered  him  with  an  embarrassment  of  riches.     During  a 
week  his  bed,  sofa,  table,    wash-stand,  chau's    and    floor 
were  littered  vrith  the  scraps  of  paper  and  tufts  of  cotton 
and  of  Spanish  moss  which  had  served  as  wrappers,   and 
with  hundreds  of  crystals,  ores  and  other  minerals.      Over 
this  confusion  the  Doctor  domineered  with  a  face  wrinkled 
by  happy  anxiety,  laying  do^vn  one  queer-colored  pebble 
to  pick  up  another,  pronouncing  this  a  Smithite  and  that 
a  Brownite    trying  his  blowpipe  on  them  alid  then    his 


64  Miss    Ravexel's     Coxveesiox. 

hammer,  and  covering  all  the  furniture  ^vith  a  layer  of 
learned  smudge  and  dust  and  gravel. 

"  Papa,  you  have  puckered  your  forehead  up  till  it  is  like 
a  baked  apple,"  Lillie  would  remonstrate.  "You  look 
more  than  five  thousand  years  old ;  you  look  as  though 
you  might  be  the  grandfather  of  all  the  mummies.  Now 
do  leave  off  bothering  those  poor  Smithites  and  Hivites 
and  Amelekites,  and  come  and  take  a  walk." 

"  3Iy  dear,  you  havn't  the  least  idea  how  necessary  it  is 
to  push  one's  discoveries  to  a  certainty  as  quickly  as  possi- 
ble "  would  answer  the  Doctor,  meanwhile  peering  at  a 
specimen  through  his  magnifymg  glass.  "The  world 
won't  wait  for  me  to  take  your  time.  If  I  don't  work 
fast  enouo'h  in  my  researches,  it  will  set  somebody  else  at 
the  job.  It  makes  no  allowance  for  Louisiana  ideas  of 
leisure  and," — ^here  he  suddenly  breaks  off  his  moralizing 
and  exclaims,  "  My  dear,  this  is  not  a*  Brownite ;  it  is  a 
Robinsonite — a  most  unquestionable  and  superb    Robin- 

sonite." 

"  Oh  papa !  I  wish  I  was  an  unquestionable  Robin- 
sonite ;  then  you  would  take  some  sort  of  interest  in  me," 
says  Jkliss  Lillie. 

But  the  Doctor  is  lost  in  the  ocean  of  his  new  discovery, 
and  for  fifteen  minutes  has  not  a  word  to  say  on  any  sub- 
ject comprehensible  to  the  young  lady. 

Two  hours  of  every  afternoon  were  devoted  by  father 
and  daughter  to  a  long  walk  in  company,  sometimes  a 
mere  shcTpprng  or  calling  tour,  but  generally  an  excursion 
into  the  pure  country  of  fields  and  forest  as  yet  so  easily 
reached  from  the  centre  of  Xew  Boston.  The  Doctor  pre- 
served a  reminiscence  of  his  college  botany,  and  attemj^ted 
to  impart  some  of  his  knowledge  of  plants  to  Lillie.  But 
she  was  a  hopeless  scholar  ;  she  persisted  in  carmg  for  little 
except  human  beings  and  such  literature  as  related  directly 
to  them,  meaning  thereby  history,  biography,  novels  and 
poetry;  she  remained  delightfully  innocent  of  all  the 
ologies. 


From     Secession    to     Loyalty.         65 

"  You  ouglit  to  have  been  born  four  thousand  years 
ago,  Lillie,"  he  exclaimed  in  despair  over  some  new  in- 
stance of  her  incapacity  to  move  in  his  favorite  grooves. 
"  So  far  as  you  are  concerned,  Linnaeus,  Humboldt,  Lyell, 
Faraday,  Agassiz  and  Dana  might  as  well  not  have  lived. 
I  believe  you  will  go  through  life  without  more  knowl- 
edge of  science  than  just  enough  to  distinguish  between  a 
2)lant  and  a  pebble." 

"  I  do  hope  so,  papa,"  replied  the  incorrigible  and  de- 
lightful ignoramus. 

When  they  met  one  of  their  acquaintance  on  these 
walks  the  Doctor  would  not  allow  him  to  pass  with,  a  nod 
and  a  smile,  after  the  unobtrusive  Xew  Boston  fashion. 
He  would  stop  him,  shake  hands  cordially,  inquire  earn- 
estly after  his  health  and  family,  and  before  partmg  con- 
trive to  say  something  personally  civil,  if  not  compli- 
mentary ;  all  of  which  would  evidently  jflatter  the  iS^ew 
Bostoniau,  but  would  also  as  evidently  discompose  him 
and  turn  his  head,  as  being  a  man  unaccustomed  to  much 
social  incense. 

"  Papa,  you  trouble  these  people,"  Lillie  would  some- 
times expostulate.  "  They  don't  know  where  to  put  all 
your  civilities  and  courtesies.  They  don't  seem  to  have 
pockets  for  them." 

"  My  child,  I  am  nothing  more  than  ordinarily  polite." 
"  Kothmg  more  than  ordinary  in  Louisiana,  but  some- 
thing very  extraordinary  here.  I  have  just  thought  why 
all  the  gentlemen  one  meets  at  the  South  are  so  civil.  It 
is  because  the  uncivil  ones  are  shot  as  fast  as  they  are  dis- 
covered." 

"There  is  something  in  that,"  admitted  the  Doctor. 
"  I  suppose  duelling  has  something  to  do  with  the  super- 
ficial good  manners  current  down  there.  But  just  consid- 
er what  an  impolite  thing  shooting  is  m  itself  To  knock 
and  jam  and  violently  push  a  man  into  the  other  world  is 
one  of  the  most  boorish  and  barbarous  discourtesies  that  I 
can  imagine.      How  should  I  like  to  be  treated  that  way ! 


66  Miss    Ravexel's     Conversion 

I  think  I  never  should  be  reconciled  to  the  fact  or  its  au- 
thor." ' 

"  But  these  New  Bostonians  are  so  poky — so  awfully 
serious." 

"I  have  some  consideration  for  anti-jokers.  They  are 
not  amusing,  but  they  are  generally  useful.  It  is  well 
for  the  race,  no  doubt,  to  have  many  persons  always  in 
solemn  earnest.  I  don't  know  what  the  world  would 
come  to  if  every  body  could  see  a  joke.  Possibly  it  might 
laugh  itself  to  death." 

Frequently  on  these  walks  they  were  met  and  joined  by 
Mr.  Colburue.  That  young  gentleman,  frank  as  his  clear 
hazel  eyes  and  hearty  laugh  made  him  appear,  was  awk- 
wardly sly  in  bringing  about  these  ostensibly  accidental 
meetmgs.  Xot  that  his  clumsy  male  cunning  deceived 
Miss  Ravenel :  she  was  not  by  any  means  fond  enough  of 
him  to  fail  to  see  through  him  ;  she  knew  that  he  walked 
in  her  j^aths  with  malice  aforethought.  Her  father  did 
not  know  it,  nor  suspect  it,  nor  ever,  by  any  innate  con- 
sciousness or  outward  hint,  feel  his  attention  drawn 
toward  the  circumstance.  And,  what  was  most  absurd  of 
all,  Mr.  Colburne  ^^ersisted  m  fearing  that  the  Doctor,  that 
travelled  and  learned  man  of  the  world,  guessed  the  secret 
of  his  slyness,  but  never  once  attributed  that  degree  of 
sharp-sightedness  to  the  daughter.  I  sometimes  get  quite 
out  of  patience  with  the  wglj  sex,  it  is  so  densely  stupid 
with  regard  to  these  little  social  riddles.  For  example,  it 
haj^pened  once  at  a  party  that  while  Colburne,  who  never 
danced,  was  talking  to  Miss  Ravenel,  another  gentleman 
claimed  her  hand  for  a  quadrille.  She  took  her  place  in 
the  set,  but  first  handed  her  fan  to  Colburne.  Xow  every 
lady  who  obser^^ed  this  action  understood  that  Miss  Rav- 
enel had  said  to  Colburne  as  j^lainly  as  it  was  possible  to 
express  the  thing  without  speakmg  or  usmg  force,  that 
she  wished  him  to  return  to  her  side  as  soon  as  the 
quadrille  was  over,  and  that  in  fact  she  preferred  his  con- 
versation to  that  of  her  dancing  admirer.      But  this  mas- 


Fkom    Secession    to     Lot  alt  y.  67 

culine  blunderer  comprehended  nothing  ;  he  grumbled  to 
himself  that  he  was  to  be  put  oiF  with  the  honor  of  holding 
a  fan  while  the  other  fellow  ran  away  with  the  owner ; 
and  so,  shoving  the  toy  into  his  ^^ocket,  he  absented  him- 
self for  half  an  horn*,  to  the  justifiable  disapprobation  of 
Miss  Ravenel,  who  did  not  again  give  him  any  thing  to 
hold  for  many  evenings. 

But  this  was  an  exceptional  piece  of  stupidity  in  Col- 
burne,  and  probably  he  would  not  have  been  guilty  of  it 
but  for  a  spasm  of  jealousy.  He  was  not  grossly  deficient 
in  social  tact,  any  more  than  m  natural  cleverness  or  in 
acquired  information.  Conversation,  and  very  sensible 
conversation  too,  flowed  like  a  river  when  he  came  into 
confluence  with  the  Kavenels.  The  prevailing  subject,  as 
a  matter  of  course,  was  the  rebellion.  It  was  every  body's 
subject ;  it  was  the  nightmare  by  night  and  the  delmum 
by  day  of  the  American  people ;  it  was  the  one  thing  that 
no  one  ignored  and  no  one  for  an  hour  forgot.  The  twenty 
loyal  millions  of  the  Xorth  shuddered  with  rage  at  the 
insolent  wickedness  of  those  conspirators  who,  merely  that 
they  might  perpetuate  human  bondage  and  their  own  po- 
litical supremacy,  proposed  to  destroy  the  grandest  social 
fabric  that  Liberty  ever  built,  the  city  of  refuge  for  op- 
j^ressed  races,  the  hope  of  the  nations.  For  men  who 
through  such  a  glorious  temple  as  this  could  rush  with 
destroying  torches  and  the  cry  of  "  Rule  or  rum,"  the 
North  felt  a  horror  more  passionate  than  ever,  on  any  oc- 
casion, for  any  cause,  thrilled  the  bosom  of  any  other  peo- 
ple. This  indignation  was  earnest  and  wide-spread  in  pro- 
portion to  the  civilization  of  the  century  and  the  intelli- 
gence of  the  population.  Tlie  hundreds  of  telegraph  luies 
and  thousands  of  printing  presses  in  the  United  States, 
sent  the  knowledge  of  every  new  treason,  and  the  rever- 
beration of  every  throb  of  patriotic  anger,  in  a  day  to  all 
Americans  outside  of  nurseries  and  lunatic  asylums.  The 
excitement  of  Germany  at  the  opening  of  the  Thirty 
Years'   War,  of  England  previous  to   the   Cromwellian 


G8  Miss     Rayexel's     Conversion 

struggle,  was  torj^id  and  j^artial  in  comparison  Avith  this 
outburst  of  a  modern,  reading  and  swiftly-informed  free 
democracy.  As  yet  there  was  little  bloodshed ;  the  old 
respect  for  law  and  confidence  in  the  processes  of  reason 
could  not  at  once  die,  and  men  still  endeavored  to  con- 
vince each  other  by  argument  while  holding  the  pistol  to 
each  other's  heads ;  but  from  the  St.  Lawrence  to  the 
Gulf  there  was  a  spiiitual  preparedness  for  slaughter 
which  was  to  end  in  such  murderous  contests  as  should 
make  ensanguined  Europe  rise  from  its  thousand  battle- 
iields  to  stare  m  wonder. 

TTomen  and  children  were  as  wild  with  the  patriotic 
excitement  as  men.  Some  of  the  prettiest  and  gentlest- 
born  ladies  of  Xew  Boston  waited  m  a  mixed  crowd  half 
the  night  at  the  railroad  station  to  see  the  first  regiments 
pass  towards  Washington,  and  flung  their  handkerchiefs, 
rings,  pencil-cases,  and  other  trmkets  to  the  astonished 
country  lads,  to  show  them  how  the  heart  of  woman 
blessed  the  nation's  defenders.  In  no  society  could  you  be 
ten  minutes  without  hearing  the  words  war,  treason,  re- 
bellion. And  so,  the  subject  being  every  body's  sulyect, 
the  Ravenels  and  Colburne  frequently  talked  of  it.  It  was 
quite  a  sad  and  sore  circumstance  to  the  two  gentlemen 
that  the  lady  was  a  rebel.  To  a  man  who  prides  himself 
on  his  superior  capacity  and  commanding  nature,  (that  is 
to  say,  to  almost  every  man  in  existence)  there  can  be 
few  greater  grievances  than  a  woman  whom  he  cannot 
convert ;  and  more  particularly  and  painfully  is  this  true 
Avhen  she  bears  some  near  relationship  to  him,  as  for  in- 
stance that  of  a  wife,  sister,  daughter  and  sweetheart. 
Thus  Ravenel  the  father  and  Colbunie  the  admirer,  fret- 
ted daily  over  the  obstinate  treasonableness  of  Miss  Lillie. 
Patriotism  she  called  it,  declaring  that  Louisiana  was  her 
country,  and  that  to  it  she  owed  her  allegiance. 

It  is  worthy  of  passing  remark  how  loyal  the  young 
are  to  the  prevailing  ideas  of  the  community  in  which 
they  are  nurtured.     You  will  find  adult  republicans  in 


From     Secession     to     Loyalty 


69 


England,  but  no  infant  ones ;  adults  monarchists  in  our 
own  country,  but  not  in  our  schools  and  nurseries.  I  have 
known  an  American  of  fifty  whose  beliefs,  prejudices  and 
tastes  were  all  European,  but  who  could  not  save  his  five 
children  from  being  all  Yankee.  Accordingly  this  young- 
lady  of  nmeteen,  born  and  nurtured  among  Louisianians, 
held  firm  for  Louisiana  in  spite  of  the  arguments  of  the 
adored  papa  and  the  rather  agreeable  admirer. 

The  Doctor  liked  Colburne,  and  respected  his  intellect. 
He  rarely  tired  of  talking  with  him  on  any  subject,  and 
concerning  the  war  they  could  go  on  interminally.  The 
only  point  on  wliich  they  disagreed  was  the  probable 
length  of  the  contest ;  the  southerner  prophecyuig  that  it 
would  last  five  or  six  years,  and  the  northerner  that  the 
rebels  would  succumb  in  as  many  months.  Miss  Ravenel 
sometimes  said  that  the  Xorth  would  give  up  in  a  year, 
and  sometimes  that  the  war  would  last  forty  years,  both 
of  which  opinions  she  had  heard  sustained  in  Xew  Or- 
leans. But,  whatever  she  said,  she  always  believed  in  the 
superior  pluck  and  warlike  skill  of  the  peojole  of  her  own 
section. 

"  Miss  Ravenel,"  said  Colburne,  "I  believe  you  thm]: 
that  all  southerners  are  giants,  so  tall  that  they  can't  see  ;i 
Yankee  without  lymg  down,  and  so  pugnacious  that  they 
never  go  to  church  without  praying  for  a  chance  to  fight 
somebody." 

She  resented  this  satii'e  by  observing,  "  Mr.  Colburne,  if 
I  believe  it  you  ought  not  to  dispute  it." 

I  am  inclined  to  thmk  that  the  young  man  in  these  days 
rather  damaged  his  chances  of  winning  the  young  lady's 
kind  regards  (to  use  a  hackneyed  and  therefore  decorous 
phrase)  by  his  stubborn  and  passionate  loyalty  to  the  old 
starry  banner.  It  was  im^Dossible  that  the  two  should 
argue  so  much  on  a  subject  wliich  so  deeply  interested 
both  without  occasionally  coming  to  spiritual  blows.  But 
why  should  Mr.  Colburne  wm  the  kind  regards  of  Miss 
Ravenel  ?  If  she  were  his  wife,  how  could  he  support  her  ? 


70  Miss     Ravexel's     Conversion 

He  had  little,  and  she  had  notlimg. 

While  they  were  talking  over  the  war  it  went  on.  One 
balmy  summer  day  our  little  debating  club  of  three  sat  in 
one  of  the  small  iron  balconies  of  the  hotel,  discussing  the 
great  battle  which  had  been  fought,  and  rumor  said  won, 
on  the  heights  around  Manassas  Junction.  For  a  week  the 
city  had  been  Avild  about  the '  on  to  Richmond'  movement ; 
and  to-day  the  excitement  culminated  in  a  general  joy 
which  was  impatient  for  official  announcements,  flags,  bells 
and  cannon.  It  was  true  that  there  was  one  susincious 
cu'cumstance ;  that  for  twenty-four  hours  no  telegrams 
concernmo;  the  fis-ht  had  come  over  the  wires  from  Wash- 
ington  ;  but,  excepting  a  few  habitual  croakers  and  secret 
copperheads,  who  were  immediately  frowmed  into  silence, 
no  one  jn-edicted  evil  tidmgs.  At  the  last  accounts  "  the 
grand  army  of  the  Potomac  "  was  dri\'ing  before  it  the 
traitorous  battalions  of  the  South  ;  McDowell  had  gauicd 
a  great  victory,  and  there  was  an  end  of  rebellion. 

"  I  don't  believe  it — I  don't  believe  it,"  Miss  Ravenel 
repeatedly  asseverated,  until  her  father  scolded  her  for  her 
absurd  and  disloyal  incredulity. 

"  The  telegraph  is  in  order  again,"  observed  Colbunie 
"  I  heard  one  of  those  men  who  just  passed  say  so."  Here 
comes  somebody  that  we  know.  "VMiitewood  I — I  say, 
Whitewood  !     Any  thing  on  the  bulletin-board  ?" 

The  pale  young  student  looked  up  with  a  face  of  des- 
2)air  and  eyes  full  of  tears. 

"  It's  all  u]},  Colburne,"  said  he.  "  Our  men  are  running, 
throwing  away  their  guns  and  every  thmg." 

His  trembling  voice  hardly  sufficed  for  even  this  short 
story  of  shame  and  disaster.  Miss  Ravenel,  the  desperate 
rebel,  jumped  to  her  feet  with  a  nervous  shriek  of  joy  and 
then,  catching  her  father's  reproving  eye,  rushed  up  stairs 
and  danced  it  out  in  her  own  room. 

"  It's  impossible !"  remonstrated  Colburne  in  such  excite- 
ment that  his  voice  w^as  almost  a  scream.  "Why,  by  the 
last  accounts — " 


Fbom    Secession    to    Loyalty.  71 

"  Oh !  that's  all  gone  up,"  groaned  Whitewood,  who 
was  in  such  a  state  of  grief  thatjie  could  hardly  talk  m- 
telligibly.  "  We've  got  more.  We've  got  the  end  of 
the  battle.  Johnson  came  up  on  our  right,  and  we  are 
whipped  all  to  pieces." 

"  Johnson  !  Why,  where  was  Patterson  ?" 

"  Patterson  is  an  old  traitor,"  shouted  Whitewood, 
pushing  wildly  on  his  way  as  if  too  sick  at  heart  to  talk 
more. 

"  It  is  very  sad,"  observed  the  Doctor  gravely.  The 
thought  occurred  to  him  that  for  his  own  interests  he  had 
better  have  stayed  m  'New  Orleans  ;  but  he  lost  sight  of  it 
immediately  in  his  sorrow  for  the  seeming  calamity  which 
had  befallen  country  and  liberty  and  the  human  race. 

"  Oh  !  it's  horrible — horrible.  I  don't  believe  it.  I  can't 
believe  it,"  groaned  Colburne.  "  It's  too  much  to  bear.  I 
must  o-o  home.     It  makes  me  too  sick  to  talk." 


CHAPTER  yj. 

MR.  COLBUENE  SEES  HIS  WAY  CLEAR  TO  BE  A  SOLDIER. 

Stragglers  arrived,  and  then  the  regiments.  People 
were  not  angry  with  the  beaten  soldiers,  but  treated 
them  mth  tenderness,  gave  them  plentifal  cold  collations, 
and  lavished  indignation  on  their  ragged  shoddy  uniforms. 
Then  the  little  State,  at  first  pulseless  with  despair,  took 
a  long  breath  of  relief  when  it  found  that  Beam-egard  had 
not  occupied  Washington,  and  set  bravely  about  pre- 
paring for  far  bloodier  battles  than  that  of  Bull  Run. 

Lieutenant-Colonel  Carter  did  not  return  with  his  regi- 
ment ;  and  Colburne  read  with  a  mixture  of  emotions  that 
he  had  been  wounded  and  taken  prisoner  while  gallantly 
leading  a  charge.  He  marked  the  passage,  and  left  the 
paper  with  his  compliments  for  the  Ravenels,  after  debat- 
ing at  the  door  of  the  hotel  whether  he  should  call  on  them, 


72  Miss     R  a  v  e  n  e  l  '  s     C  o  n  t  e  n  s  i  o  x 

and  deciding  in  the  negative.  Xot  being  able  as  yet  to 
apjH'eciate  that  blessing  m  disguise,  Bull  Run,  his  loyal 
heart  was  very  sad  and  sore  over  it,  and  he  felt  a  thrill  of 
something  like  horror  whenever  he  thought  of  the  joyful 
shriek  with  which  Lillie  had  welcomed  the  shocking  tid- 
ings. He  was  angry  with  her,  or  at  least  he  tried  to  be. 
He  called  up  his  patriotism,  that  strongest  of  Xew  Eng- 
land isms,  and  resolved  that  witli  a  secessionist,  a  woman 
who  wished  ill  to  her  country,  he  would  not  fall  in  love. 
But  to  be  sure  of  this  he  must  keep  away  from  her  ;  for 
thus  much  of  love,  or  of  perilous  inclination  at  least,  he 
already  had  to  acknowledge ;  and  moreover,  while  he  was 
somewhat  ashamed  of  the  feeling,  he  still  could  not  hearti- 
ly desire  to  eradicate  it.  Troubled  thus  concerning  the 
aftairs  of  the  country  and  of  his  own  heart,  he  kept  aloof 
from  the  Ravenels  for  three  or  four  days.  Then  he  said  to 
himself  that  he  had  no  cause  for  avoiding  the  Doctor,  and 
that  to  do  so  was  disgraceful  treatment  of  a  man  who  had 
proved  his  loyalty  by  taking  up  the  cross  of  exile. 

This  story  will  probably  have  no  readers  so  destitute  of 
sympathy  with,  the  young  and  loving,  as  that  they  can 
not  guess  the  result  of  Colburne's  internal  struggles.  Aft- 
er two  or  three  chance  conversations  with  Ravenel  he 
jumi3ed,  or  to  speak  more  accurately,  he  gently  slid  to  the 
conclusion  that  it  was  absurd  and  unmanly  to  make  a 
distinction  in  favor  of  the  father  and  against  the  daughter. 
Quarrel  with  a  woman ;  how  ridiculous  !  how  unchival- 
rous  !  He  colored  to  the  tips  of  his  repentant  ears  as  he 
thought  of  it  and  of  what  Miss  Ravenel  must  think  of  it. 
He  hastened  to  call  on  her  before  the  breach  which  he  had 
made  between  her  and  himself  should  become  untraversa- 
ble ;  for  although  the  embargo  on  their  intercourse  had 
lasted  only  about  a  week,  it  already  seemed  to  hun  a 
lapse  of  tune  measureable  by  months ;  and  this  very 
naturally,  inasmuch  as  during  that  short  interval  he  had 
lived  a  life  of  anguish  as  a  man  and  a  patriot.  Accord- 
ingly the  old  intimacy  was  resumed,  and  the  two  young 


■/r 


E^BOM     Secession    to     Loyalty.  73 

people  seldom  passed  forty-eight  hours  apart.  But  of  the 
rebellion  they  said  little,  and  of  Bull  Run  nothing.  These 
were  such  sore  subjects  to  him  that  he  did  not  wish  to 
speak  of  them  except  to  the  ear  of  sympathy ;  and  she, 
divining  his  sensitiveness,  would  not  give  him  pain  not- 
withstanding that  he  was  an  abolitionist  and  a  Yankee. 
If  the  Doctor,  ignorant  of  what  passed  in  these  young- 
hearts,  turned  the  conversation  on  the  war,  Lillie  became 
silent,  and  Colbume,  appreciating  her  forbearance,  tried  to 
say  very  little.  Thus  without  a  compact,  without  an  expla- 
nation, they  accorded  in  a  stram  of  mutual  charity  which 
predicted  the  ultimate  conversion  of  one  or  the  other. 

Moreover,  Colburne  asked  himself,  what  right  had  he  to 
talk  if  he  did  not  fight  ?  If  he  wanted  to  answer  this 
woman's  outcry  of  delight  over  the  rout  of  Bull  Run,  the 
place  to  do  it  was  not  a  safe  parlor,  but  a  field  of  victor- 
ious battle.  AYhy  did  he  not  act  in  accordance  with  these 
truly  chivah-ous  sentiments  ?  "Why  not  fall  into  one  of  tlie 
new  regiments  which  his  gallant  little  State  was  organiz- 
ing to  continue  the  struggle?  Why  not  march  on  with, 
the  soul  of  old  John  Brown,  joining  in  the  sublime  though 
quaint  chorus  of,  "  We're  coming.  Father  Abraham,  thi-ee 
hundred  thousand  more  ?" 

He  did  talk  very  earnestly  of  it  with  various  persons, 
and,  among  others,  with  Doctor  Ravenel.  The  latter  ap- 
proved the  young  man's  warlike  inclinations  promptly 
and  earnestly. 

"  It  is  the  noblest  duty  that  you  may  ever  have  a  chance 
to  perform  during  your  life,"  said  he.  "  To  do  something 
personally  towards  upholdmg  this  Union  and  striking 
down  slavery  is  an  honor  beyond  any  thmg  that  ever  was 
accorded  to  Greek  or  Roman.  I  wish  that  I  were  young 
enough  for  the  work,  or  fitted  for  it  by  nature  or  educa- 
tion. I  would  be  willing  to  have  my  tombstone  set  up 
next  year,  if  it  could  only  bear  the  inscription,  "  He  died 
in  gbmig  freedom  to  slaves." 

"  Oh  I  do  stop,"  implored  Lillie,  who  entered  m  time  to 
D 


74  Miss     Ravenel's     Conversion 

hear  the  conchidmg  sentence.  "  What  do  you  talk  about 
your  tombstone  for  ?  You  will  get  perfectly  addled  about 
abolition,  like  all  the  rest.  Now,  papa,  you  ought  to  be 
more  consistent.  You  didn't  use  to  be  so  violent  against 
slavery.     You  have  changed  since  five  years  ago." 

"  I  know  it,"  says  the  Doctor.  "  But  that  doesn't  prove 
that  I  am  wrong  now.  I  wasn't  infallible  five  years  ago. 
Why,  my  dear,  the  progress  of  our  race  from  barbarism  to 
civilization  is  through  the  medium  of  constant  change.  If 
the  race  is  benefited  by  it,  why  not  the  mdividual  ?  I  am 
a  sworn  foe  to  consistency  and  conservation.  To  stick 
obstinately  to  our  old  opmions,  because  they  are  old,  is  as 
Ibolish  as  it  would  be  in  a  soldier-crab  to  hold  on  to  liis 
shell  after  he  had  outgrown  it  instead  of  picking  up  a  new 
one  fitted  to  his  increased  size.  Suppose  the  snakes  per- 
sisted in  gomg  about  in  their  last  year's  skins  ?  Xo,  no ; 
there  are  no  such  fools  m  the  lower  animal  kingdom  ;  that 
stupidity  is  confined  to  man." 

"  The  world  does  move,"  observed  Colbume.  "  We 
consider  ourselves  pretty  strict  and  old-fashioned  here  in 
New  Boston.  But  if  our  Puritan  ancestors  could  get 
hold  of  us,  they  would  be  likely  to  have  us  A\-hipped  as 
heretics  and  Sabbath-breakers.  Very  likely  we  would  be 
equally  severe  upon  our  own  great-great-grandchildren,  if 
we  should  get  a  chance  at  them." 

"  Weak  spirits  are  frightened  by  this  change,  this  growfh, 
this  forward  impetus,"  said  the  Doctor.  "  I  must  tell  you  a 
story.  I  was  travelling  in  Georgia  three  years  ago.  On 
the  seat  next  in  front  of  me  sat  a  cracker,  who  was  e\i- 
dently  making  his  first  railroad  experience,  and  in  other 
respects  learning  to  go  on  his  hind  legs.  Presently  the 
train  crossed  a  bridge.  It  vras  narrow,  uncovered  and 
vrithout  sides,  so  that  a  passenger  would  not  be  likely  to 
see  it  unless  he  sat  near  the  window.  Now  the  cracker 
sat  next  the  alley  of  the  car,  and  away  from  the  Tsmidow. 
I  observed  him  give  a  glare  at  the  river  and  turn  away 
his   head  suddenly,  after  which  he  rolled  about  in  a  queer 


Miss    Ravexel's     Coxveesion  15 

way,  and  finally  went  on  the  floor  in  a  heap.  We  picked 
him  up ;  spirits  were  easily  produced,  (they  always  are 
down  there)  ;  and  presently  the  cracker  was  brought  to 
his  senses.  His  first  worcls  were,  'Has  she  lit' —  He 
was  under  the  impression  that  the  tram  had  taken  the 
river  at  a  running  jnmj).  Xow  that  is  very  much  like  the 
judgment  of  timid  and  ill-infi^rmed  people  on  the  -pro- 
gress of  the  nation  or  race  at  such  a  time  as  this.  They 
don't  know  about  the  bridge;  they  think  we  are  flymg 
through  the  air ;  and  so  they  go  ofi"  in  general  fainting-fits." 
Colbunie  laughed,  as '  many  another  man  has  done  be- 
fore him,  at  this  good  old  story. 

"  On  our  train,  "  said  he,  "  on  the  train  of  human  pro- 
gress, we  are  parts  of  the  engine  and  not  mere  passengers. 
I  ought  to  be  revolving  somewhere.  I  ought  to  be  at 
work.  I  want  to  do  something — I  am  most  anxious  to  do 
something — ^but  I  don't  know  precisely  what.  I  suppose 
that  the  inability  exists  in  me,  and  not  in  my  circum- 
stances. I  am  like  the  gentleman  who  tired  himself  out 
with  jumping,  but  never  could  jump  high  enough  to  see 
over  his  own  standing-collar." 

"  I  know  how  you  feel.  I  have  been  in  that  state  my- 
self, often  and  in  various  ways.  For  instance  it  has  oc- 
cui'red  to  me,  especially  in  my  younger  days,  to  feel  a 
strong  desire  to  write,  vdthout  having  anything  to  say. 
There  was  a  burning  in  my  brain  ;  there  was  a  sentiment 
or  sensation  which  led  me  to  seek  pens,  ink  and  paper ; 
there  was  an  imj)atient,  uncertain,  aimless  efibrt  to  com- 
mence ;  there  was  a  pause,  a  revery,  and  all  was  over. 
It  was  a  storm  of  sheet-lightning.  There  were  glorious 
gleams,  and  far  ofi*  openings  of  the  heavens ;  but  no  sound, 
droppings,  no  sensible  revelation  from  the  uj^j^er  world. — 
However,  your  longings  are  for  action,  and  I  am  con- 
vuiced  that  you  will  find  your  opportunity.  There  will 
be  work  enough  m  this  matter  for  all." 

"  I  don't  know,"   said  Colburne.     "  The  sixth  and  sev- 


^6  Miss    Ravexel's    Conveksion 

enth  regiments  are  full.     I  hear  that  there  isn't  a  lieiiten- 
antcy  left." 

"  You  will  have  to  raise  your  own  company." 

"  Ah  !  But  for  what  regiment  ?  We  shan't  raise  another, 
I  am  afraid.  Yes,  I  am  actually  afraid  that  the  war  will 
"be  over  in  six  months." 

Miss  Ravenel  looked  up  hastily  as  if  she  should  like  to 
say  "  Forty  years,"  but  checked  herself  by  a  surprising 
effort  of  magnanimity  and  good  nature. 

"  That's  queer  patriotism,"  laughed  the  Doctor.  But  let 
me  assure  you,  Mr.  Colburne,  that  your  fears  are  ground- 
less.    There  will  be  more  regiments  needed." 

Miss  Ravenel  gave  a  slight  approving  nod,  but  still  said 
nothing,  remembering  Bull  Run  and  how  provokingly  she 
had  shouted  over  it. 

"  This  southern  oligarchy,"  continued  the  Doctor,  "  will 
be  a  tough  nut  to  crack.  It  has  the  consolidated  vigor  of 
a  tyi-anny." 

"  I  wonder  where  Lieutenant-Colonel  Carter  is  ?"  queried 
Colburne.  "  It  is  six  weeks  since  he  was  taken  prisoner. 
It  seems  like  six  years." 

Miss  Ravenel  raised  her  head  with  an  air  of  interest, 
glanced  hastily  at  her  father,  and  gave  herself  anew  to 
iier  embroidery.  The  Doctor  made  a  grimace  which  was 
as  much  as  to  say  that  he  thought  small  beer  or  sour  beer 
of  Lieutenant-Colonel  Carter. 
^  "  He  is  a  very  fine  officer,"  said  Colburne.  "  He  was 
highly  spoken  of  for  his  conduct  at  Bull  Run." 

""  I  would  rather  have  you  for  a  Colonel,"  replied  the 
Doctor. 

Colburne  laughed  contemptuously  at  the  idea  of  his 
fitness  for  a  colonelcy. 

"  I  would  rather  have  any  respectable  man  of  tolerable 
intellect,"  insisted  the  Doctor.  "  I  tell  you  that  I  know 
that  type  perfectly.  I  know  what  he  is  as  well  as  if  I  had 
been  acquainted  with  him  for  twenty  years.  He  is  what 
we  southerners,  in  our  barbarous  local  vanity,  are  accus- 


From    Secession    to    Loyalty.  77 

tomed  to  call  a  sontliern  gentleman.     He  is  on  the  model 
of  the  sugar-planters  of  St.   Dominic  Parish.     He   needs 
somebody  to  care  for  him.  Let  me  tell  you  a  story.  TThen 
I  was  on  a  mineralogical  expedition  in  Xorth  Carolina 
some  years  ago,  I  happened  to  be  out  late  at  night  looking 
for  lodgings.     I  was  apj^roaching  one  of  those  cross-road 
groggeries  which  they  call  a  tavern  down  there,  when  I 
met  a  most  curious  couple.     It  was  a  man  and  a  goose. 
The  man  was  drunk,  and  the  goose  was  sober.      The  man 
was  staggering,  and  the  goose  was  waddling  perfectly 
straight.      Every  few  steps  it   halted,  looked,  back   and 
quacked,  as  if  to  say.  Come  along.  The  moon  was  shining, 
and  I  could  see  the  whole  thing  plainly.     I  was  obliged  to 
put  up  for  the  night  in  the  groggery,  and  there  I  got  an 
explanation  of  the  comedy.      It  seems  that  this  goose  was 
a  pet,  and  had  taken  an  unaccountable  affection  to  its 
owner,  who  was  a  wretched  drunkard  of  a  cracker.      The 
man  came  nearly  every  night  to  the  groggery,  got  drunk 
as  regularly  as  he  came,  and  generally  went  to  sleep  on 
one  of  the  benches.     About  midnight  the  goose  would  ap- 
pear and  cackle  for  him.     The  bar-keeper  would  shake  up 
the  drunkard  and  say,  '  Here  !  your  goose   has  come  for 
you.'     As  soon  as  the  brute  could  get  his  legs  he  would 
start  homeward,  guided  by  his  more  mtelligent  compan- 
ion.    If  the  man  fell  down  and  couldn't  get  up,  the  goose 
would  remain  by  him  and  squawk  vociferously  for  assist- 
ance.— Xow,  su',  there  was  hardly  a  sugar-planter,  hardly"* 
a  southern  gentleman,  in  St.  Dominic  Parish,  who  didn't 
need   some   such  guardian.      Often  and  often,  as  I  have 
seen  them  swilling  wine  and  brandy  at  each  other's  tables 
I  have  charitably  wished  that  I  could  say  to  this  one  and 
that  one.  Sir,  your  goose  has  come  for  you." 

"But  you  never  have  seen  the  Lieutenant-Colonel  so 
badly  off,"  answered  Colburne,  after  a  short  meditation. 

"  Why  no — not  precisely,"  admitted  the  Doctor.  "  But 
I  know  his  type,"  he  presently  added  with  an  obstmacy 
which  Miss  Ravenel  secretly  thought  very  unjust.     She 


78  Miss    Kavenel's    Conversion 

thought  it  best  to  direct  her  spirit  of  censure  in  another 
direction. 

"  Papa,"  said  she,  "  what  a  count ryfied  habit  you  have 
of  telling  stories  !" 

"  Don't  criticise,  my  dear,"  answers  papa.  "  I  am  a  high 
toned  southern  gentleman,  and  always  knock  people  on 
the  head  who  criticise  me." 

The  question  still  returns  upon  us,  why  Mr.  Colbume 
did  not  jom  the  army.  It  is  time,  therefore,  to  state  the 
hitlierto  unimportant  fact  that  he  was  the  only  son  of  a 
widow,  and  that  his  life  was  a  necessity  to  her,  not  only 
as  a  consolation  to  her  loneliness,  but  as  a  support  to  her 
declming  fortunes.  Doctor  Colbume  had  left  his  wife  and 
child  an  estate  of  about  twenty-five  thousand  dollars, 
which,  at  the  time  of  his  death  was  a  respectable  fortune 
m  New  Boston.  But  the  mflux  of  gold  from  California, 
and  the  consequent  rise  of  2:)rices,  seriously  dimmif^hed  tlie 
value  of  the  family  income  just  about  the  time  that  Ed- 
ward, by  growmg  mto  manhood  and  entering  college,  ne- 
cessitated an  increase  of  expenses.  Therefore  Mrs.  Col- 
bume was  led  to  put  one  half  of  the  joint  fortime  into  cer- 
tain newly-organized  manufacturmg  companies,  which 
promised  to  increase  her  annual  six  per  cent  to  twenty-four 
— nor  was  she  therem'exceedmgly  to  blame,  being  led  away 
by  the  example  and  advice  of  some  of  the  sharpest  New 
Boston  capitalists,  many  of  whom  had  their  experienced 
pinions  badly  lamed  in  these  joint-stock  adventurings. 

"  What  you  want,  Mr.  Colburne,"  said  a  director,  "  is 
an  investment  which  is  both  safe  and  permanent.  Now 
this  is  just  the  thing." 

I  can  not  say  much  for  the  safety  of  the  investment,  but 
it  certamly  was  a  permanent  one.  Durmg  the  first  year 
the  promised  twenty-four  per  cent  was  paid,  and  the  widow 
could  have  sold  out  for  one  hundred  and  twenty.  Then 
came  a  free-trade.  Democratic  improvement  on  the  tarifi"; 
the  manufacturing  interest  of  the  country  was  paralyzed, 
and  the   Braggville  stock  fell  to  ninety.     3Irs.  Colburne 


Fkom     Secession    to     Loyalty.  79 

might  still  have  sold  out  at  a  profit,  counting  in  her  first 
year's  dividend ;  but  as  it  was  not  in  her  inexperience  to 
see  that  this  was  wisdom,  she  held  on  fi^r  a — decline.  By 
the  opening  of  the  war  her  certificates  of  manufacturing 
stock  were  waste  paper,  and  her  annual  mcome  was  re- 
duced to  eight  himdred  dollars.  Indeed,  for  a  year  or  two 
previous  to  the  commencement  of  this  story,  she  had  been 
forced  to  make  inroads  upon  her  capital. 

Of  this  crisis  in  the  family  affairs  Edward  was  fully 
aware,  and  like  a  true-born,  industrious  Yankee,  did  his 
best  to  meet  it.  From  every  lowermost  branch  and  twig 
of  his  profession  he  plucked  some  fruit  by  dint  of  constant 
watchfulness,  so  that  during  the  past  year  he  had  been 
very  nearly  able  to  cover  his  own  conscientiously  econom- 
ical expenditures.  He  was  gaining  a  foothold  m  the  law, 
although  he  as  yet  had  no  cases  to  plead.  If  he  held  on  a 
year  or  two  longer  at  this  rate  he  might  confidently  ex- 
pect to  restore  the  family  income  and  stave  off  the  threat- 
ened sale  of  the  homestead. 

But  this  was  not  all  which  prevented  him  from  going 
forth  to  battle.  The  cry  of  his  mother's  heart  was, 
"  jVIy  son,  how  can  I  let  thee  go  ?"  She  was  an  abolition- 
ist, as  was  almost  every  body  of  her  set  in  New  Boston  ; 
she  was  an  enthusiastic  patriot,  as  was  almost  every  one 
in  the  north  during  that  sublime  summer  of  popular 
enthusiasm  ;  but  this  war — oh,  this  strange,  ferocious  war  ! 
was  horrible.  Her  sensitively  affectionate  nature,  blinded 
by  veils  of  womanly  tenderness,  folded  in  habits  of  life- 
long jDcace,  could  not  see  the  hard,  inevitable  necessity  of 
the  contest.  Earnestly  as  she  sympathised  with  its  loyal 
and  humane  objects,  she  was  not  logical  enough  or  not 
finn  enough  to  sympathise  with  the  iron  thing  itself. 
Lapped  in  sweet  influences  of  peace  all  her  loving  life,  why 
mast  she  be  called  to  death  amid  the  clamor  of  murderous 
contests  ?  For  her  health  was  failing  ;  a  painful  and  fatal 
disease  had  fastened  its  clutches  on  her ;  another  year's 
course  she  did  not  hope  to  run.     And  if  the  hateful  strug- 


80  Miss    Ravenel's     Conversion 

gle  must  go  on,  if  it  mii^t  torment  licr  last  few  days  with 
its  agitations  and  horrors,  so  much  the  more  did  she  need 
her  only  child.  Other  women's  sons — yes,  if  there  was  no 
help  for  it — but  not  hers — might  put  on  the  panoply  of 
strife,  and  disappear  from  anxiously  following  eyes  into 
the  smoke  and  flame  of  battle.  Edward  told  her  every  day 
■■  the  warlike  news  of  the  journals,  the  grand  and  stern  -pnt- 
ting  on  of  the  harness,  the  gigantic  plans  for  crushing  the 
nation's  foes.  She  could  take  no  interest  in  sueh  tidings 
but  that  of  aversion.  He  read  to  her  in  a  voice  which 
thrilled  like  swellings  of  martial  music,  Tennyson's  Charge, 
of  the  Six  Hundred.  She  listened  to  the  clarion-toned 
words  with  distaste  and  almost  with  horror. 

"Well,  the  summer  wore  aAvay,  that  summer  of  sombre 
preparation  and  preluding  skirmishes,  whose  scattering 
musketry  and  thin  cannonade  faintly  prophecied  the  or- 
chestral thunders  of  Gettysburg!!  and  the  Wilderness, 
and  whose  few  dead  preceded  like  skirmishers  the  massive 
columns  which  for  years  should  firmly  follow  them  into 
the  dark  valley.  Its  forereaching  shadows  fell  upon  many 
homes  far  away  from  the  battlefield,  and  chilled  to  death 
many  sensitive  natures.  Old  persons  and  mvalids  sank 
into  the  grave  that  season  imder  the  oppression  of  its 
straining  suspense  and  j^reliminary  horror ;  and  among 
these  victims,  whom  no  man  has  counted  and  whom  few 
have  thought  of  collectively,  was  the  mother  of  Colbume. 

One  September  afternoon  she  sent  for  Edward.  The 
Doctor  had  gone ;  his  labors  were  over.  The  clergyman 
had  gone  ;  neither  was  he  longer  needed.  There  was  no 
one  in  the  room  but  the  nurse,  the  dying  mother  and  the 
only  child.  The  change  had  been  expected  for  days,  and 
Edward  had  thought  that  he  was  prepared  for  it ;  had  in- 
deed marvelled  and  been  shocked  at  himself  because  he 
could  look  forward  to  it  with  such  seemmg  composure ; 
for,  reason  with  his  heart  and  his  conscience  as  he  might, 
he  could  not  feel  a  fitting  dread  and  anguish.  In  the 
common  phrase  of  humanity,  when  numbed  by  unusual 


FROii    Secession    to     Loyalty.         81 

sorrow,  he  could  not  realize  it.  But  now,  as,  leaning  over 
the  footboard  and  looking  steadfastly  upon  his  mother's 
face,  he  saw  that  the  final  hour  had  come,  a  sickness  of 
heart  fell  upon  him,  and  a  trembling  as  if  his  soul  were 
bemg  torn  asunder.  Yet  neither  wept ;  the  Puritans  and 
the  children  of  the  Puritans  do  not.  weep  easily  ;  they  are 
taught,  not  to  utter,  but  to  hide  their  emotions.  The 
nurse  perceived  no  signs  of  unusual  feeling,  except  that 
the  face  of  the  strong  man  became  suddenly  as  pale  as 
that  of  the  dying  woman,  and  that  to  him  this  was  an  hour 
of  anguish,  while  to  her  it  was  one  of  unspeakable  joy. 
The  mother  knew  her  son  too  well  not  to  see,  even  with 
those  failmg  eyes,  into  the  depths  of  his  sorrow. 

"  Don't  be  grieved  for  me,  Edward,"  she  said.  "  I  am 
sustamed  by  the  faith  of  the  promises.  I  am  about  to  re- 
turn from  the  place  whence  I  came.  I  am  re-entermg 
with  peace  and  with  confidence  into  a  blessed  eternity." 

He  came  to  the  side  of  the  bed,  sat  down  on  it  and  took 
her  hand  without  speaking. 

"  You  will  follow  me  some  day,"  she  went  on.  "  You 
will  follow  me  to  the  place  where  I  shall  be,  at  the  right 
hand  of  the  Lord.  I  have  prayed  for  it  often ; — I  was 
praying  for  it  a  moment  ago ;  and,  my  child,  my  prayer 
will  be  granted.  Oh,  I  have  been  so  fearful  for  you; 
But  I  am  fearful  no  longer." 

He  made  no  answer  except  to  press  her  hand  while  she 
paused  to  draw  a  few  short  and  wearisome  breaths. 

"  I  can  bear  to  part  with  you  now,"  she  resumed.  "  I 
could  not  bear  it  till  the  Lord  granted  me  this  full  assur- 
a^ice  that  we  shall  meet  again.  I  leave  you  m  his  hands. 
I  make  no  conditions  with  him.  I  have  been  sweetly 
brought  to  give  you  altogether  up  to  one  who  loves 
you  better  than  I  know  how  to  love  you.  He  gave 
me  my  love,  and  he  has  kept  more  than  he  gave.  Perhaps 
I  have  been  selfish,  Edward,  to  hold  on  to  you  as  I  have. 
You  have  felt  it  your  duty  to  go  into  the  army,  and  per- 
haps I  have  been  selfish  to  prevent  you.  Now  you  are 
D2 


82  Miss    Rayenel's     Conversion 

free ;  to-morrow  I  shall  not  be  here.  If  you  still  see  that 
to  be  your  duty,  go ;  and  the  Lord  go  with  you,  darling, 
and  give  you  strength  and  courage.  I  do  not  ask  him  to 
spare  you,  but  only  to  guide  you  here  below,  and  restore 

you  to  me  above. And  he  will  do  it,  Edward,  for  his 

OAVTi  sake.  I  am  full  of  confidence  ;  the  promises  are  sure. 
For  you  and  for  myself,  I  rejoice  with  a  joy  unspeakable 
and  full  of  glory." 

While  thus  sj^eakmg,  or  rather  whispering,  she  had  put 
one  arm  around  his  neck.  As  he  kissed  her  wasted  cheek 
and  let  fall  his  first  tears  on  it,  she  drew  her  hand  across 
his  face  with  a  caressing  tenderness,  and  smiling,  fell  back 
softly  on  her  i)illow,  closing  her  eyes  as  calmly  as  if  to 
sleep.  A  few  broken  words,  a  murmuring  of  unutterable, 
unearthly,  ir.finite  happiness,  echoes  as  it  were  of  greetings 
far  away  with  welcoming  angels,  were  her  last  utterances. 
To  the  young  man,  who  still  held  her  hand  and  now  and 
then  kissed  her  cheek,  she  seemed  to  slumber,  although 
her  breathing  gradually  sank  so  low  that  he  could  not  per- 
ceive it.  But  after  a  long  time  the  nurse  came  to  the  bed- 
side, bent  over  it,  looked,  listened,  and  said,  "  She  is 
gone  !" 

He  was  free  ;  she  was  not  there. 

He  went  to  his  room  with  a  horrible  feeling  that  for  him 
there  was  no  more  love ;  that  there  was  nothing  to  do 
and  nothhig  to  expect ;  that  his  life  was  a  blank.  He 
could  fix  his  mind  on  nothing  past  or  future ;  not  even  up- 
on the  unparalleled  sorrow  of  the  present.  Taking  uj)  the 
Bible  which  she  had  given  }^im,  he  read  a  page  before  he 
noticed  that  he  had  not  understood  and  did  not  remember 
a  smgle  passage.  In  that  vacancy,  that  almost  idiocy, 
which  beclouds  afflicted  souls,  he  could  not  recall  a  dis- 
tiuct  impression  of  the  scene  through  which  he  had  just 
passed,  and  seemed  to  have  forgotten  forever  his  mother's 
dying  words,  her  confidence  that  they  should  meet  again, 
her  heavenly  joy.  With  the  same  perverseness,  and  m 
spite  of  repeated   efibrts  to  close  his  ears  to  the  sound, 


Feo^j:     Secession    to     Loyalty.  83 

some  inner,  wayward  self  repeated  to  him  over  and  over 
again  these  verses  of  the  unhappy  Poe — 

"  Thank  Heaven  !  the  crisis, 

The  danger  is  past, 

And  the  lingering  ilhiess 

Is  over  at  last, 

And  the  fever  called  Living 

Is  conquered  at  last." 

The  sad  words  sounded  wofully  true  to  him.  For  the 
time,  for  some  days,  it  seemed  to  him  as  if  life  were  but  a 
w^earisome  illness,  for  which  the  grave  was  but  a  cure.  His 
mind,  fevered  by  night  watcMng,  anxiety,  and  an  unac- 
customed grapplmg  with  sorrow,  was  not  in  a  healthy 
state.  He  thought  that  he  was  willing  to  die  ;  he  only  de- 
sired to  fall  usefully,  honorably,  and  in  consonance  with 
the  spuit  of  his  generation  ;  he  would  set  his  face  hence- 
forward towards  the  awful  beacons  of  the  battle-field.  His 
resolution  was  taken  with  the  seriousness  of  one,  who, 
though  cheerful  and  even  jovial  by  nature,  had  been  per- 
meated to  some  extent  by  the  solemn  passion  of  Puritan- 
ism. He  painted  to  himself  in  strong  colors  the  risk  of 
death  and  the  nature  of  it ;  then  deliberately  chose  the 
part  of  facing  this  tremendous  mystery  in  support  of  the 
right.  *  All  this  while,  be  it  remembered,  his  mind  was 
somewhat  exalted  by  the  fever  of  bodily  weakness  and  of 
spiritual  sorrow. 


84  Miss    Ravexel's     Cox  version 


CHAPTER  Vn. 

CAPTAIN    COLBUEXE    RAISES   A   C03IPAXT,    AXD    COLOXEL 
CARTER    A    REGIMEXT. 

The  settlement  of  his  mother's  estate  and  of  his  own 
pecuniary  aifau'S  occupied  Colburne's  time  until  the  early- 
part  of  October.  By  then  he  had  invested  his  property  as 
well  as  might  be,  rented  the  much-loved  old  homestead, 
taken  a  room  in  the  Xew  Boston  House,  and  was  fully 
prepared  to  bid  good-bye  to  native  soil,  and,  if  need  be, 
to  life.  Miss  Ravenel  was  a  strong  though  silent  tempta- 
tion to  remain  and  to  exist,  but  he  resisted  her  with  the 
heroism  which  he  subsequently  exhibited  in  combating 
male  rebels. 

One  morning,  as  he  left  the  hotel  rather  later  than  usual 
to  go  to  his  office,  his  eyes  fell  upon  a  high-colored  face 
and  gigantic  brown  mustache,  which  he  could  not  have 
foiled  to  recognize,  no  matter  where  nor  when  encount- 
ered. There  was  the  wounded  captive  of  Bull  Run,  as  big 
chested  and  rich  complexioned,  as  audacious  in  eye  and 
haughty  in  aii",  as  if  no  hurt  nor  hardship  nor  calamity  had 
ever  befalle^  him.  He  checked  Colburne's  eager  advance 
with  a  cold  stare,  and  passed  him  without  speaking.  But 
the  young  fellow  hardly  had  time  to  color  at  this  rebuff, 
when,  just  as  he  was  opening  the  outer  door,  a  baritone 
voice  arrested  him  with  a  ringing,  "  Look  here  !" 

"  Beg  i^ardon,"  continued  the  Lieutenant-Colonel,  com- 
mg  up  hastily.  "  Didn't  recognize  you.  It's  quite  a  time 
smce  our  pic-nic,  you  know." 

Here  he  showed  a  broad  grin,  and  presently  burst  out 
laughhig,  as  much  amused  at  the  past  as  if  it  did  not  con- 
tain Bull  Run. 

"  What  a  jolly  old  pic-nic  that  was  !"  he  went  on.     "  I 


Feom     Secession    to     Loyalty.  85 

have  shouted  a  himdred  times  to  think  of  myself  passing 
the  wine  and  segars  to  those  prim  old  virgins.  Just  as 
though  I  had  bowsed  into  the  House  Beautiful,  among 
Bunyan's  damsels,  and  offered  to  treat  the  crowd  !" 

Again  the  Lieutenant-Colonel  laughed  noisily,  his  inso- 
lent black  eyes  twinkling  with  merriment.  Colburne 
looked  at  him  and  listened  to  him  with  amazement.  Here 
was  a  man  who  had  lately  been  in  what  was  to  him  the 
terrible  mystery  of  battle  ;  who  had  fallen  down  wounded 
and  been  carried  away  captive  while  fighting  heroically 
for  the  noblest  of  causes ;  who  had  witnessed  the  greatest 
and  most  humiliating  overthrow  which  ever  befel  the  ar- 
mies of  the  republic ;  who  yet  did  not  allude  to  any  of 
these  things,  nor  apparently  think  of  them,  but  could  chat 
and  laugh  about  a  pic-nic.  Was  is  treasonable  indifference, 
or  levity,  or  the  sublimity  of  modesty  ?  Colburne  thought 
that  if  he  had  been  at  Bull  Run,  he  never  could  have 
talked  of  any  thing  else. 

"  Well,  how  are  you  ?"  demanded  Carter.  "  You  are 
looking  a  little  pale  and  thin,  it  seems  to  me." 

"  Oh,  I  am  well  enough,"  answered  Colburne,  passing- 
over  that  subject  with  modest  contempt,  as  not  worthy  of 
mention.  "  But  how  are  you  f  Have  you  recovered  from 
your  wound  ?" 

"  Wound  ?  Oh  !  yes  ;  mere  bagatelle  ;  healed  up  some 
time  ago.  I  shouldn't  have  been  caught  if  I  hadn't  been 
stunned  by  my  horse  falling.     The  wound  was  nothing," 

"  But  you  must  have  suffered  in  your  confinement,"  said 
Colburne,  determined  to  appreciate  and  pity. 

"  Suffered !  My  dear  fellow,  I  suffered  with  eating  and 
drinking  and  making  merry.  I  had  the  deuce's  own  time 
in  Richmond.  I  met  loads  of  my  old  comrades,  and  they 
nearly  killed  me  with  kindness.  They  are  a  nice  set  of 
old  boys,  if  they  are  on  the  wrong  side  of  the  fence.  You 
didn't  suppose  they  would  maltreat  a  brother  West  Point- 
er, did  you  ?" 


86  Miss    Ravexel's    Coxversiox 

And  the  Lieutenant-Colonel  laughed  heartily  at  the  civ- 
ilian blundej'. 

"  I  didn't  know,  really,"  answered  the  puzzled  Col- 
burne.  "  I  must  say  I  thought  so.  But  I  am  as  poor  a 
judge  of  soldiers  as  a  sheep  is  of  catamounts." 

"  Why,  look  here.  When  I  left  they  gave  me  a  supper, 
and  not  only  made  me  drunk,  but  got  drunk  themselves  in 
my  honor.  Opened  their  purses,  too,  and  forced  their 
money  on  me." 

All  this,  it  will  be  noted,  was  long  previous  to  the  time 
when  Libby  Prison  and  Andersonville  were  deliberately 
converted  into  pest-houses  and  starvation  pens. 

"  I  am  afraid  they  wanted  to  bring  you  over,"  observed 
Colburne.  He  looked  not  only  suspicious,  but  even  a  little 
anxious,  for  in  those  days  every  patriot  feared  for  the  faith 
of  his  neighbor. 

"I  suppose  they  did,"  replied  Carter  carelessly,  as  if  he 
saw  nothing  extraordinary  in  the  idea.  "  Of  course  they 
did.  They  need  all  the  help  that  they  can  get.  In  fact 
the  rebel  Secretary  of  War  paid  me  the  compliment  of 
making  me  an  offer  of  a  regiment,  with  an  assurance  that 
promotion  might  be  relied  on.  It  was  done  so  delicately 
that  I  couldn't  be  offended  In  fact  it  was  quite  natural, 
and  he  probably  thought  it  would  be  bad  taste  to  omit  it. 
I  am  a  Yii'ginian,  you  know  ;  and  then  I  was  once  engaged 
in  some  southern  schemes  and  diplomacies — before  this 
war  broke  out,  you  understand — oh,  no  connection  with 
this  war.  However,  I  declmed  his  offer.  There's  a  patriot 
for  you." 

"  I  honor  you,  su*,"  said  Colbume  with  a  fervor  which 
made  the  Lieutenant-Colonel  grm.  "  You  ought  at  be  re- 
warded." 

"  Quite  so,"  answered  the  other  in  his  careless,  half-jok- 
ing style.  "  Well,  I  am  rewarded.  I  received  a  letter 
yesterday  afternoon  from  your  Governor  offering  me  a  re- 
giment. I  had  just  finished  an  elegant  dinner  with  some 
good  fellows,  and  was  going  in  for  a  roaring  evening.  But 


From    Secession    to    Loyalty.  8*7 

business  before  pleasure.  I  took  a  cold  plunge  bath  and 
the  next  tram  for  Xew  Boston,  getting  here  at  midnight. 
I  am  off  at  ten  to  see  his  Excellency." 

"  I  am  sincerely  delighted,"  exclaimed  the  young  man. 
"  I  am  delighted  to  hear  that  the  Governor  has  had  such 
good  sense." 

After  a  moment's  hesitation  he  added  anxiously,  "  Do 
you  remember  your  mvitation  to  me  ?" 

"  Certainly.  What  do  you  say  to  it  now  ?  Will  you 
go  with  me  ?" 

"  I  will,"  said  Colburne  emphatically.  "  I  will  try.  I 
only  fear  that  I  can  neither  raise  nor  command  a  compa- 
ny." 

"  ^ever  fear,"  answered  Carter  in  a  tone  which  pooh- 
poohed  at  doubt.  "  You  are  just  the  man.  Come  round  to 
the  bar  with  me,  and  let's  drink  success  to  our  regiment. 
Oh,  I  recollect ;  you  don't  imbibe.  Smoke  a  segar,  then, 
while  we  talk  it  over.  I  tell  you  that  you  are  just  the 
man.  Noblesse  ohlige.  Any  gentleman  can  make  a  good 
enough  company  officer  in  three  months'  practice.  As  to 
raising  your  men,  I'll  give  you  my  best  countenance, 
whatever  that  may  amount  to.  And  if  you  actually  don't 
succeed  in  getting  your  quota,  after  all,  why,  we'll  take 
somebody  else's  men.  Examinations  of  officers  and  consol- 
idations of  companies  biing  all  these  things  right,  you 
know." 

"  I  should  be  sony  to  profit  by  any  other  man's  influ- 
ence and  energy  to  his  harm,"  answered  the  fastidious 
Colburne. 

"  Pshaw  !  it's  all  for  the  good  of  the  service  and  of  the 
country.  Because  a  low  fellow  who  keej^s  a  saloon  can 
treat  and  wheedle  sixty  or  eighty  stout  fellows  into  the 
ranks,  do  you  suppose  that  he  ought  to  be  commissioned 
an  officer  and  a  gentleman  ?  I  don't.  It  can't  be  in  my 
regiment.  Leave  those  things  to  me,  and  go  to  work  with- 
out fear.  Write  to  the  Adjutant-General  of  the  State  to- 
day for  a  recruiting  commission,  and  as  soon  as  you  get  it, 


88  Miss     Rayexel's     Coxversiox 

open  an  office.  I  guarantee  that  you  shall  be  one  of  the 
Captains  of  the  Tenth  Barataria." 

"  Who  are  the  other  field  officers  ?"  asked  Colburne. 

"  Not  appointed  yet.  I  am  alone  in  my  glory.  I  am 
the  reo-iment.  But  the  Lieutenant-Colonel  and  Major 
shall  be  of  the  right  stamp.  I  mean  to  have  a  word  to  say 
as  to  the  choice.  I  tell  you  that  we'll  have  the  bulliest 
regiment  that  ever  sprang  from  the  soil  of  Xew  England." 

"  Well,  I'll  try.  But  I  really  fear  that  I  shall  just  get 
my  company  recruited  in  time  for  the  next  war." 

"  Xever  fear,"  laughed  Carter,  as  though  war  were  a 
huge  practical  joke.  "  We  are  in  for  a  four  or  five  years' 
job  of  fighting." 

"  You  don't  mean  it !"  said  the  young  man  in  amaze- 
ment. "  Why,  we  citizens  are  all  so  full  of  confidence. 
McClellan,  every  body  says,  is  organizing  a  splendid  ar- 
my. Did  Bull  Run  give  you  such  an  opmion  of  the  supe- 
rior fighting  qualities  of  the  southerners  ?" 

"  Xot  at  all.  Both  sides  fought  timidly,  as  a  rule,  just  as 
greenhorns  naturally  would  do.  The  best  description  of 
the  battle  that  I  have  heard  was  given  in  a  single  sentence 
by  my  old  captain,  Lamar,  now  in  command  of  a  Georgia 
regiment.  Said  he,  '  There  never  was  a  more  frightened 
set  than  our  fellows — except  your  fellows. — Why,  we  out- 
foucrht  them  in  tlie  morning ;  we  had  them  fairly  whipj^ed 
until  Johnston  came  up  on  our  right.  The  retreat  was  a 
mathematical  necessity ;  it  was  like  saying.  Two  and  two 
make  four.  When  our  line  was  turned,  of  course  it  had 
to  retreat." 

"  Retreat !"  groaned  Colburne  in  bitterness  over  the  re- 
collection of  that  calamitous  afternoon.  "  But  you  didn't 
see  it.  They  ran  shamefully,  and  never  stopped  short  of 
Washington.  One  man  reached  Xew  Boston  mside  of 
twenty-four  hours.  It  was  a  panic  unparalleled  in  his- 
tory." 

"  Xonsense !  Beg  your  pardon.  Did  you  never  read  of 
Austerlitz  and  Jena  and  Waterloo?    Our  men  did  pretty 


Feom  Secession  to  Loyalty.    89 

well  for  militia.  I  didn't  see  the  panic,  to  be  sure; — I 
was  picked  up  before  that  happened.  But  I  have  talked 
with  some  of  om*  officers  who  did  see  it,  and  they  told  me 
that  the  papers  exaggerated  it  absnrdly.  Newspaper 
corresj^ondents  ought  not  to  be  allowed  in  the  army. 
They  exaggerate  every  thing.  If  we  had  gained  a  victory, 
they  would  have  made  it  out  something  greater  than 
Waterloo.  You  must  consider  how  easily  inexperience  is 
deceived.  Just  get  the  story  of  an  upset  from  an  old  stage- 
driver,  and  then  from  a  lady  passenger ;  the  first  will  tell 
it  as  quite  an  ordinary  aflair,  and  the  second  will  make  it 
out  a  tragedy.  Now  when  some  old  grannies  of  congress- 
men and  some  young  ladies  of  newspaper  reporters,  none 
of  whom  had  ever  seen  either  a  victory  or  a  defeat  before, 
got  entangled  among  half  a  dozen  disordered  regiments 
they  naturally  concluded  that  nothing  like  it  had  happen- 
ed in  history.  I  tell  you  that  it  wasn't  unparalleled,  and 
that  it  ought  not  to  have  been  considered  surprising. 
Whichever  of  those  two  green  armies  got  repulsed  was 
pretty  sure  to  be  routed.  That  was  a'  very  pretty 
manoeuvre,  though,  that  coming  up  of  Johnston  on 
our  right.  Patterson  ought  to  be  court-martialed  for  his 
stupidity." 

"  Stupidity  !    He  is  a  traitor,"  exclaimed  Colburne. 

"  Oh !  oh  !"  expostulated  the  Colonel  with  a  cough. 
"  If  we  are  to  try  all  our  dull  old  gentlemen  as  traitors, 
we  shall  have  our  hands  full.  That's  somethins:  like 
hanging  homely  old  women  for  witches. — By  the  way, 
how  are  the  Allstons  ?  I  mean  the — the  Ravenels.  Well, 
are  they  ?  Young  lady  as  blooming  and  blushing  as  ever  ? 
Glad  to  hear  it.  Can't  stop  to  call  on  them;  my  train 
goes  in  ten  minutes. — I  am  delighted  that  you  are  going 
to  fall  in  with  me.     Good  bye  for  to-day." 

Away  he  went,  leaving  Colburne  in  wonder  over  his 
contrasts  of  slanginess  and  gentility,  his  mingled  audacity 
and  insouciance  of  character,  and  all  the  picturesque  ms 
and  outs  of  his  moral  architecture,  so  different  from  the 


90  Miss     Ravexel's     Coxyersiox 

severe  plainness  of  the  spiritual  temples  common  in  Xew 
Boston.  The  young  man  Avould  have  preferred  that  liis 
future  Colonel  should  not  drmk  and  swear ;  but  lie  would 
not  puritanically  decide  that  a  man  who  drank  and  swore 
could  not  be  a  good  officer.  He  did  not  know  aimy  men 
well  enough  to  dare  judge  them  witli  positiveness ;  and 
he  certainly  would  not  try  them  by  the  moral  standards 
according  to  which  he  tried  civilians.  The  facts  that 
Carter  was  a  professional  soldier,  and  that  he  had  shed 
his  blood  in  the  cause  of  the  country,  were  sufficient  to 
make  Colburne  regard  with,  charity  all  his  frank  vices. 

I  must  not  allow  the  reader  to  suppose  that  I  present 
Carter  as  a  type  of  all  regular  officers.  There  were  men 
in  the  old  army  who  never  tasted  liquors,  who  never 
blasphemed,  who  did  not  waste  theii*  substance  in  riotous 
livmg,  who  could  be  accused  of  no  evil  practices,  who 
were  models  of  Christian  gentlemen.  The  American  ser- 
vice, as  well  as  the  English,  had  its  Havelocks,  its  Ileadly 
Yicars,  its  Colonel  ISJ'ewcomes.  Xevertheless  I  do  ven- 
ture to  say  that  it  had  also  a  great  many  men  whose  moral 
habits  were  cut  more  or  less  on  the  Carter  pattern,  who 
swore  after  the  fashion  of  the  British  army  in  Flanders, 
whose  heads  could  carry  drink  like  Dugald  Dalgetty's, 
and  who  had  even  other  vices  concernmg  which  my  dis- 
creet pen  is  silent. 

Within  a  week  after  the  conversation  above  reported 
Colburne  opened  a  recruiting  office,  advertised  the  "  Put- 
nam Rangers"  largely,  and  adorned  his  doorway  with  a 
transparency  representmg  Old  Put  m  a  bran-new  uniform 
riding  sword  in  hand  down  the  stone  steps  of  Horse- 
neck.  His  company,  as  yet  in  embryo,  was  one  of  the  ten 
accepted  out  of  the  nineteen  offered  for  Carter's  regiment. 
It  was  supposed  that  the  name  of  a  West  Point  colonel 
would  render  the  organization  a  favorite  one  with  the  en- 
listing classes ;  and  accordmgly  all  the  chiefs  of  incomplete 
companies  throughout  the  State  of  Barataria  wanted  to 
sieze    the    chance    for    easy    recruiting.      But  Colburne 


From    Secession    to    Loyalty.  91 

soon  found  that  the  dulhiess  of  a  young  lawyer's  office 
was  none  too  prosy  an  exordium  for  the  dullness  of  a  re- 
cruitmg  office  at  this  particular  period.  Passed  was  that 
springSde  of  popular  enthusiasm  when  companies  were 
raisecl  m  a  day,  when  undersized  heroes  wept  at  being  re- 
jected  by  the  mustermg  officer,  when  well-to-do  youths 
paid  a  hundred  dollars  to  buy  out  a  chance  to  be  shot  at. 
Bull  Run  had  disenchanted  some  romantic  natures  con- 
cerning the  pleasures  of  war,  and  the  vast  enlistments  of 
the  summer  had  di'awn  heavily  on  the  nation's  fighting 
material.  Moreover,  Colbm-ne  had  to  encounter  obstacles 
of  a  personal  nature,  such  as  did  not  trouble  some  of  his 
competitors.  A  student,  a  member  of  a  small  and  shy  so- 
cial circle,  neither  business  man  nor  one  of  the  bone  and 
sinew,  not  having  belonged  to  a  fire  company  or  militia 
company,  nor  even  kept  a  bar  or  billiard-saloon,  he  had  no 
retainers  nor  partisans  nor  shopmates  to  call  upon,  no  rum- 
my customers  whom  he  could  engage  in  the  war-dance  on 
condition  of  unlimited  AvHskey.  He  had  absolutely  no 
personal  means  of  influencing  the  classes  of  the  community 
which  furnish  that  important  element  of  all  militiiry  or- 
ganizations, private  soldiers.  For  a  time  he  remamed  al- 
most as  solitary  in  his  office  as  Old  Put  m  the  perilous 
glory  of  his  breakneck  descent.  In  short  the  raismg  of  his 
company  proved  a  slow,  vexatious  and  expensive  busi- 
ness, notwithstandmg  the  countenance  and  aid  of  the  Col- 
onel. 

Miss  Ravenel  was  much  spited  m  secret  when  she  saw 
his  advertisement ;  but  she  was  too  proud  to  expose  her 
interest  in  the  matter  by  opposition.  What  object  had 
she  in  keeping  him  at  home  and  out  of  danger?  More- 
over after  the  fashion  of  most  southern  women,  she  be- 
Heve'd  in  fio-htino-,  and  respected  a  man  the  more  for  draw- 
in-  the  sword,  no  matter  for  which  party.  After  a  while 
when  his  activity  and  cheerfulness  of  spirit  had  returned 
to  hun,  she  began  to  talk  with  her  old  freedom  of  expi-es- 
sion,  and  indulged  in  playful  prophecies  about  the  Bull 


92  Miss    Ravenel's     Coxyersiox 

Runs  he  avouIcI  figlit,  the  masterly  retreats  he  Avoiild  accom- 
plish, and  the  captivities  he  would  undergo. 

"  When  you  are  a  prisoner  in  Richmond,"  she  said,  "  I'll 
write  to  my  Louisiana  friends  in  the  southern  army  and 
tell  them  what  a  spiteful  abolitionist  you  are.  I'll  get  them 
to  put  a  colored  friend  and  brother  into  the  same  cell  with 
you.  You  won't  like  it.  You'll  promise  to  go  back  to 
your  law  office,  if  they'll  send  that  fellow  to  his  planta- 
tion." 

The  Doctor  was  all  sympathy  and  interest,  and  brim- 
med over  with  prophecies  of  Colburne's  success.  He 
judged  the  people  of  Barataria  by  the  people  of  Louisiana ; 
the  latter  preferred  gentlemen  for  officers,  and  so  of  course 
would  the  former.  Notwithstanding  his  hatred  of  slavery 
he  was  still  somewhat  under  the  influence  of  its  aristo- 
cratical  glamour.  He  had  not  yet  fully  comprehended 
that  the  war  was  a  struggle  of  the  plain  j^eople  against  an 
oligarchy,  and  that  the  plain  people  had,  not  very  under- 
standingly  but  still  very  resolutely,  determined  to  lead  the 
fighting  as  well  as  to  do  it.  He  had  not  yet  full  faith 
that  the  northern  working-man  would  beat  the  southern 
gentleman,  without  much  guidance  from  the  northern 
scholar. 

"  Don't  be  discouraged,"  he  said  to  Colburne.  "  I  feel 
the  utmost  confidence  in  your  prospects.  As  soon  as  it  is 
generally  understood  who  you  are  and  what  your  char- 
acter is,  you  will  have  recruits  to  give  away.  It  is  impos- 
sible that  these  bar-tenders  and  tinkers  should  raise  good 
men  as  easily  as  a  gentleman  and  a  graduate  of  the  uni- 
versity. They  may  get  a  run  of  ruft-scuff,  but  it  won't 
last.  I  predict  that  your  company  will  be  completed 
sooner  and  composed  of  better  material  than  any  other  in 
the  regunent.  I  would  no  more  give  your  chance  for  that 
of  one  of  these  tmkers  than  I  would  exchange  a  meteorite 
for  its  weight  in  old  nails." 

The  Doctor  abounded  in  promising  but  unfruitful 
schemes  for  helpiug  forward  the  Putnam  Rangers.     He 


Feoxi    Secession    to     Loyalty.  93 

proposed  that  Colburne  should  send  a  cii-cular  to  all  the 
clergymen  and  Sabbath-school  superintendents  of  the 
county,  callhig  upon  each  parish  to  furnish  the  subscriber 
with  only  one  good  recruit. 

"  If  they  do  that,"  said  he,  "  as  they  unquestionably 
will  when  the  case  is  properly  presented  to  them,  why  the 
company  is  filled  at  once." 

He  advised  the  young  man  to  make  an  oratorical  tour, 
delivermg  patriotic  speeches  in  the  village  lyceums,  and 
circulatmg  an  enlistment  paper  at  the  close  of  each  per- 
formance. He  told  him  that  it  would  not  be  a  bad  move 
to  apply  to  his  professional  brethren  far  and  near  for  aid 
in  rousing  the  popular  enthusiasm.  He  himself  wrote  fa- 
vorable notices  of  the  captain  and  his  company,  and  got 
them  prmted  in  the  city  journals.  One  day  he  came  home 
in  a  hurry,  and  with,  great  glee  produced  the  evening  edi- 
tion of  the  New  Boston  Patriot. 

"  Our  young  friend  has  hit  it  at  last,"  he  said  to  Lillie. 
"  He  has  called  the  muses  to  his  aid.  Here  is  a  superb 
patriotic  hymn  of  his  composition.  It  is  the  best  thing  of 
the  khid  that  the  literature  of  the  war  has  produced." 
(The  Doctor  was  somewhat  given  to  hyperbole  in  speak- 
ing well  of  his  friends.)  "  It  can't  fail  to  excite  popular 
attention.  I  venture  to  predict  that  those  verses  alono 
will  bring  him  hi  fifty  men." 

"  Let  me  see,"  said  Lillie,  making  an  impatient  snatch 
at  the  paper ;  but  the  Doctor  ctrew  it  away,  desirous  of  en- 
joying the  luxury  of  his  own  elocution.  To  read  a  good 
thing  aloud  and  to  poke  the  fire  are  sunple  but  real  pleas- 
ures, wliicli  some  people  cannot  easily  deny  themselves — 
and  which  belong  of  right,  I  thmk,  to  the  head  of  a  fami- 
ly. The  Doctor  settled  himself  in  an  easy  chair,  adjusted 
his  collar,  put  up  his  eyeglass,  dropped  it,  put  on  his 
spectacles  in  spite  of  Lillie's  remonstrances,  and  read  as 
follows— 


94  Miss    Rayenel's    Conveesion 


A    NATIONAL    HYMN. 

Tune  :  America. 

Be  thou  our  countr3''s  Chief 
Id  this  our  )-ear  of  grief, 

Allfather  great ; 
Go  forth  with  awful  tread, 
Crush  treason's  serpent  head, 
Bring  back  our  sons  misled, 

And  save  our  State. 

Uphold  our  stripes  and  stars 
Through  war's  destroying  jars 

With  thy  right  hand  ; 
Oh  God  of  battles,  lead 
*^  Where  our  swift  navies  speed, 

Where  our  brave  armies  bleed 

For  fatherland. 

Break  every  yoke  and  chain, 
Let  truth  and  justice  reign 

From  sea  to  sea ; 
Make  all  our  statutes  right 
In  thy  most  holy  sight ; 
Light  us,  O  Lord  of  light. 
To  foUow  Thee. 

God  bless  our  fatherland, 
God  make  it  strong  and  grand 

On  sea  and  shore  ; 
Ages  its  glory  swell. 
Peace  in  its  borders  dwell, 
God  stand  its  sentinel 

For  ever  more. 

"  Let  ine  see  it,"  persisted  Lillie,  making  a  second  and 
more  successful  reach  for  the  paper.  She  read  the  verses 
to  herself  with  a  slight  flush  of  excitement,  and  then 
quietly  remarked  that  they  were  pretty.      It  has  been  sus- 


Feom    Secession    to    Loyalty.  95 

pected  that  she  kept  that  paper  ;  at  all  events,  when  her 
father  sought  it  next  mornuig  to  cut  out  the  verses  and 
paste  them  in  his  common-place  book,  he  could  not  find  it ; 
and  while  Lillie  pretended  to  take  an  interest  in  his  search, 
she  made  no  distinct  answer  to  his  inquiries.  I  am  told 
by  persons  wise  in  the  ways  of  young  ladies  that  they 
sometimes  lay  aside  trifles  of  this  sort,  and  are  afterwards 
ashamed,  from  some  inexplicable  cause,  of  having  the  fact 
become  patent  even  to  their  nearest  relatives.  It  must 
not  be  understood,  by  the  way,  that  Mss  Ravenel  had  lost 
her  slight  admii-ation  for  that  full-blown  specimen  of  the 
male  sex,  Colonel  Carter.  He  was  too  much  in  the  style 
of  a  Louisiana  j^lanter  not  to  be  attractive  to  her  homesick 
eyes.  She  welcomed  his  rare  visits  with  her  mvariable 
but  nevertheless  flattering  blush,  and  talked  to  him  with 
a  vivacity  which  sent  flashes  of  pam  into  the  soul  of  CoV 
burne.  The  young  man  admitted  the  fact  of  these  spasms, 
but  tried  to  keep  up  a  deception  as  to  their  cause.  Li  his 
charity  towards  himself  he  attributed  them  to  an  unselfish 
anxiety  for  the  happmess  of  that  sweet  gu-1,  who,  he  feared, 
would  find  Carter  an  unsuitable  husband,  however  grand- 
iose as  a  social  ornament  and  accomplished  as  an  officer. 

In  spite  of  these  sentimental  possibilities  of  disagree- 
ment between  the  Colonel  and  the  Captain,  their  friend- 
ship daily  grew  stronger.  The  foi-mer  was  not  in  the 
least  influenced  by  lovelorn  jealousy,  and  set  much  store 
by  Colburne  as  being  the  only  officer  in  his  regiment  who 
was  precisely  to  his  taste.  He  had  desired,  but  had  not 
been  able  to  obtam,  the  young  gentlemen  of  N'ew  Boston, 
the  sons  of  the  college  professors,  and  of  the  city  clergy- 
men. The  set  was  limited  in  number  and  not  martial  nor 
enthusiastic  in  character.  It  had  held  aristocratically 
aloof  from  the  militia,  from  the  fire  companies,  from  personal 
interference  in  local  politics,  from  every  social  enterprise 
which  could  bring  it  into  contact  with  the  laboring 
masses.  It  needed  two  years  of  tremendous  war  to  break 
through  the  shy  reserve  of  this  secluded  and  almost  mon- 


96  Miss    Rayenel's     Conversion 

astic  little  circle,  and  let  loose  its  sons  upon  the  battle- 
field. The  Colonel  was  disgusted  with  his  raft  of  tmkers 
and  tailors,  as  he  called  his  officers,  although  they  were 
mostly  good  drill-masters  and  creditably  zealous  in  learn- 
ing the  graver  duties  of  their  new  profession.  The  regu- 
lar army,  he  said,  had  not  been  troubled  with  any  such 
kmd  of  fellows.  The  brahmmism  of  West  Point  and  of 
the  old  service  revolted  from  such  vulgar  associations.  It 
required  the  fiery  breath  of  many  fierce  battles,  in  which 
the  gallantry  of  volunteers  shone  consj^icuous,  to  blow  this 
feeling  into  oblivion. 

One  day  the  Colonel  related  in  confidence  to  the  Doctor 
a  chcumstance  which  had  given  him  peculiar  disgust. 
The  Governor  having  permitted  him  to  nominate  his  own 
Lieutenant-Colonel,  he  had  selected  an  ex-officer  of  a  three 
months'  regiment  who  had  shown  tactical  knowledge,  and 
gallantry.  The  field  position  of  Major  he  had  finally  re- 
solved to  demand  for  Colburne.  Hence  an  interview,  and 
an  iinj^leasant  one,  with  the  chief  magistrate  of  Barataria. 

"  Gov^-nor,"  said  Carter,  "  I  want  that  majority  for  a 
particular  friend  of  mine,  the  best  officer  m  the  regiment 
and  the  best  man  for  the  place  that  I  know  in  the  State." 

The  Governor  was  in  his  little  office  reclining  in  a  high- 
backed  oaken  chau-,  and  toasting  his  feet  at  a  fire.  He 
was  a  tall,  thin,  stooping  gentleman,  slow  in  gait  because 
feeble  in  health,  with  a  benign  dignity  of  manner  and  an 
unvarying  amiability  of  countenance.  His  eyes  were  a 
j^ale  blue,  his  hah  a  light  chesnut  slightly  silvered  by  fifty 
years,  his  complexion  had  once  been  freckled  and  was  still 
fair,  his  smile  was  frequent  and  conciliatory.  Like  Presi- 
dent Lincoln  he  sprang  from  the  plain  people,  who  were  to 
conquer  in  this  war,  and  like  him  he  was  capable  of  intel- 
lectual and  moral  growth  in  proportion  to  enlargement  of 
his  sphere  of  action.  A  modest,  gentle-tempered,  oblig- 
ing man,  patriotic  in  every  impulse,  devout  m  the  severe 
piety  of  New  England,  distinguished  for  personal  honor 


From     Secession     to     Loyalty.  97 

and  private  virtues,  he  was  iu  the  main  a  credit  to  the 
State  which  had  selected  him  for  its  loftiest  dignity. 

He  had  risen  from  his  chair  and  saluted  the  Colonel 
with  marked  respect.  Although  he  did  not  like  his  moral 
ways,  he  valued  him  highly  for  his  jDrofessional  ability 
and  courage,  and  was  proud  to  have  him  in  command  of  a 
Baratarian  regiment.  To  his  shy  spirit  this  aristocratic 
and  martial  personage  was  m  fact  a  rather  imposmg  phe- 
nomenon. Carter  had  a  fearful  eye ;  by  turns  audacious- 
ly haughty  and  insolently  quizzical ;  and  on  this  occasion 
the  Governor  felt  himself  more  than  usually  discomposed 
under  its  wide  open,  steady,  confident  stare.  He  seemed 
even  a  little  tremulous  as  he  took  his  seat ;  he  dreaded  to 
disagree  with  the  representative  of  West  Point  brahmui- 
ism ;  and  yet  he  knew  that  he  must. 

"  Captain  Colburne." 

"  Oh — Captain  Colburne,"  hesitated  the  Governor.  "  I 
agree  with  you.  Colonel,  in  all  that  you  say  of  him.  I 
hope  that  there  will  be  an  opportunity  yet  of  pushing  him 
forward.  But  just  now,"  he  continued  with  a  smile  that 
was  apologetical  and  almost  penitent,  "  I  don't  see  that  I 
can  give  him  the  majority.  I  have  promised  it  to  Cap- 
tain Gazaway." 

"  To  Gazaway  !"  exclaimed  Carter.  A  long  breath  of  an- 
gry astonishment  swelled  his  broad  breast,  and  liis  cheek 
would  have  flushed  if  any  emotion  could  have  deepened 
the  tint  of  that  dark  red  bronze. 

"  You  don't  mean,  I  hope.  Governor,  that  you  are  re- 
solved to  give  the  majority  of  my  regiment  to  that  1)oor." 

"  I  know  that  he  is  a  plain  man,"  mildly  answered  the 
Governor,  who  had  begun  life  himself  as  a  mechanic. 

"  Plain  man  !  He  is  a  plain  blackguard.  He  is  a  tod- 
dy-mixer and  shoulder-hitter." 

The  Governor  uttered  a  little  troubled  laugh ;  he  was 
clearly  discomposed,  but  he  was  not  angry. 

"  I  am  willing  to  grant  all  that  you  say  of  him,"  he  an- 
swered. "  I  have  no  personal  Hking  for  the  man.  Indi- 
E 


98  Miss    Ravenel's    Conversion 

vidually  I  should  prefer  Caj^tain  Colburne.  But  if  you 
knew  the  pressure  that  I  am  under — " 

He  hesitated  as  if  reflecting,  smiled  again  with  his  hab- 
itual gentleness,  folded  and  unfolded  his  hands  nervously, 
and  proceeded  with  his  explanation. 

"  You  must  not  expose  our  little  political  secrets,  Col- 
onel. I  am  obliged  to  permit  certain  schemes  and  j^lots 
which  personally  I  disaj^prove  of.  Captain  Gazaway  liVes 
in  a  very  close  district,  and  influences  a  considerable  num- 
ber of  votes.  He  is  popular  among  his  class  of  peoj^le.  as 
vou  can  see  by  the  ease  with  which  he  filled  his  company. 
He  and  his  friends  insist  upon  the  majority.  If  we  refuse  it 
Ave  shall  probably  lose  the  district  and  a  member  of  Con- 
gress. That  is  a  serious  matter  at  this  time  when  the 
administration  must  be  supported  by  a  strong  house,  or 
the  nation  may  be  shipwrecked.  Still,  if  I  were  left  alone 
I  would  take  the  risk,  and  appoint  good  officers  and  no 
others  to  all  our  regiments,  satisfied  that  success  in  the 
field  is  the  best  means  of  holding  the  masses  firm  in 
support  of  the  Government.  But  in  the  meantime  Bur- 
leigh, who  is  our  candidate  m  Gazaway's  district,  is  de- 
feated, we  will  suppose.  Burleigh  and  Gazaway  under- 
stand each  other.  If  Gazaway  gets  the  majority,  he 
promises  to  insure  the  district  to  Burleigh.  You  see  the 
pressure  I  am  under.  All  the  leading  managers  of  our 
party  concur  in  urging  upon  me  this  promotion  of  Gaza- 
way. I  regret  extremely  that  I  can  do  nothing  now  for 
your  favorite,  whom  I  respect  very  much.  I  hope  to  do 
something  for  him  in  the  future." 

"  When  an  election  is  not  so  near  at  hand,"  suggested 
Carter. 

"  Here,"  continued  the  Governor,  without  noticing  the 
satire,  I  have  been  perfectly  frank  with  you.  All  I  ask  in 
return  is  that  you  will  have  patience." 

"  'Pon  my  honor,  I  can't  of  course  find  fiiult  with  you 
personally,  Governor,"  replied  the  Colonel.  "  I  see  how 
the    cursed  thino;    works.      You  are  on  a  treadmill,  and 


From     Secession     to     Loyalty.  99 

must  keep  steiDping  according  to  the  machinery.  But  by 
— !  sir,  I  wish  this  whole  matter  of  appointments  was  in 
the  hands  of  the  War  Department." 

"  I  almost  wish  it  was,"  sighed  the  Governor,  still 
without  a  show  of  wounded  pride  or  impatience. 

It  was  this  conversation  whicli  the  Colonel  repeated  to 
the  scandalized  ears  of  Doctor  Ravenel,  when  the  latter 
urged  the  promotion  of  Colburne. 

"  I  hope  you  will  inform  our  young  friend  of  your  efforts 
in  his  favor,"  said  the  Doctor.  "  He  will  be  exceeduigly 
gratified,  notwithstanding  the  disappointment." 

"  No,"  said  the  Colonel.  "  I  beg  your  pardon ;  but 
don't  tell  him.  It  would  not  be  policy,  it  would  not  be 
soldierly,  to  inform  him  of  any  thing  likely  to  disgust  him 
with  the  service." 


CHAPTER  YIII. 

THE   BEAVE   BID    GOOD-BYE   TO   THE   FAIE. 

Another  circumstance  disgusted  Colonel  Carter  even 
more  than  the  affair  of  the  majority.  He  received  a  com- 
munication from  the  War  Department  assigning  his  regi- 
ment to  the  Xew  England  Division,  and  directmg  him  to 
report  for  orders  to  3Iajor-General  Benjamin  F.  Butler. 
Over  this  priper  he  fired  off  such  a  volley  of  oaths  as  if 
Uncle  Toby's  celebrated  army  in  Flanders  had  fallen  in 
for  practice  in  battalion  swearing. 

"  A  civilian  !  a  lawyer,  a  political  wire-puller  !  a  militia- 
man!" exclaimed  the  high-born  southern  gentleman.  West 
Point  graduate  and  ex-ofiicer  of  the  regular  army.  "  What 
does  such  a  fellow  know  about  the  organization  or  the 
command  of  troops  !  I  don't  believe  he  could  make  out 
the  property  returns  of  a  company,  or  take  a  platoon  of 


100         Miss     Ravenel's     Conversion 

skirmishers  into  action.     And  I   must   report  to  him,  in- 
stead of  he  to  me  !" 

Let  us  sujDpose  that  some  inconceivably  great  power 
had  suddenly  created  the  Colonel  a  first-class  lawyer,  and 
ordered  the  celebrated  Massachusetts  advocate  to  act  un- 
der him  as  junior  counsel.  We  may  conjecture  that  the 
latter  might  have  been  made  somewhat  indignant  by  such 
an  arrangement. 

"  I'll  make  official  application  to  be  transferred  to  some 
other  command,"  continued  Carter,  thmking  to  himself. 
"  If  that  won't  answer,  I'll  go  to  the  Secretary  myself 
about  it,  irregular  as  personal  application  may  be.  And 
if  that  won't  answer,  I'll  be  so  long  in  getting  ready  for 
the  field,  that  our  Major-General  Pettifogger  will  probably 
go  without  me." 

If  Carter  attempted  to  carry  out  any  of  these  plans,  he 
no  doubt  discovered  that  the  civilian  General  was  greater 
than  the  West  Pomt  Colonel  in  the  eyes  of  the  authorities 
at  Washington.  But  it  is  probable  that  old  habits  of  sol- 
dierly obedience  prevented  him  from  ofiering  much  if  any 
resistance  to  the  will  of  the  War  Department,  just  as  it 
prevented  him  from  expressmg  his  dissatisfaction  in  the 
presence  of  any  of  his  subordinate  officers.  It  is  true  that 
the  Tenth  was  an  unconscionable  long  time  in  getting  rea- 
dy for  the  field,  but  that  Avas  owing  to  the  decay  of  the 
enlistmg  spirit  in  Barataria,  and  Carter  seemed  to  be  as 
much  fretted  by  the  lack  of  men  as  any  body.  Meantime 
not  even  Colburne,  the  officer  to  whom  he  unbosomed  him- 
self the  most  freely,  overheard  a  syllable  from  him  in  dis- 
paragement of  General  Butler. 

During  the  leisurely  organization  and  drilling  of  his  re- 
giment the  Colonel  saw  Miss  Ravenel  often  enough  to  fall 
desperately  in  love  with  her,  had  he  been  so  minded.  He 
was  not  so  minded ;  he  liked  to  talk  with  pretty  young 
ladies,  to  flirt  with  them  and  to  tease  them  ;  but  he  did 
not  easily  take  sentiment  au  grand  serieux.  Self-conceit 
and  a  certain  hard-hearted  indiffierence  to  the  feelmgs  of 


From     Secession    to     Loyalty.       101 

others,  combined  with  a  love  of  fun,  made  him  a  habitual 
quiz.  He  acknowledged  the  charm  of  Lillie's  outlines  and 
manner,  but  he  treated  her  like  a  child  whom  he  could 
pet  and  banter  at  his  pleasure.  She,  on  the  other  hand, 
was  a  little  too  much  afraid  of  him  to  quiz  in  return  ;  she 
could  not  treat  this  mature  and  seemingly  worldly-wise 
man  with  the  playful  impertinence  which  sometimes 
marked  her  manner  towards  Colburne. 

"  Miss  Ravenel,  have  you  any  messages  for  Xew  Or- 
leans ?"  said  the  Colonel.  "I  begm  to  thmk  that  we 
shall  go  just  there.  It  will  be  such  a  rich  pocket  for  Gen- 
eral Butler's  fingers." 

In  speakuig  to  civilians  Carter  was  not  always  so  care- 
ful of  the  character  of  his  superiors  as  m  talking  to  his 
subordinate  ofiicers. 

"Just  think  of  the  twelve  millions  of  gold  in  the 
banks,"  he  proceeded,  "  and  the  sugar  and  cotton  too,  and 
the  wholesale  nigger-stealing  that  we  can  do  to  varnish 
over  our  robberies.  It  grieves  me  to  death  to  thmk  that 
the  Tenth  will  soon  be  street-firmg  up  and  down  New  Or- 
leans. We  shall  make  such  an  awful  slaughter  among 
yonr  crowds  of  old  admirers  !" 

"  I  hope  you  won't  kill  them  all." 

"  Oh,  I  shan't  kill  them  all.  I  am  not  going  to  commit 
suicide,"  said  the  Colonel  with  a  flippant  gallantry  which 
made  the  young  lady  color  with  a  suspicion  that  she  was 
not  profoundly  appreciated. 

"  Do  you  really  think  that  you  are  going  to  Xew  Or- 
leans ?"  she  presently  mquired. 

"  Ah  !  Don't  ask  me.  You  have  a  right  to  command 
me ;  but  don't,  I  beg  of  you,  order  me  to  tell  state  se- 
crets." 

"  Then  why  do  you  introduce  the  subject?"  she  replied, 
more  annoyed  by  his  manner  than  by  what  he  said. 

"  Because  the  subject  has  irresistible  charms  ;  because  it 
is  connected  with  your  past,  and  perhaps  with  your  fu- 
ture." 


102         31iss     Ravexel's     Conversion 

N'ow  if  Carter  had  looked  in  tlie  least  as  he  sjioke,  I 
fear  that  Miss  Lillie  would  have  been  flattered  and  grati- 
fied. But  he  did  not ;  he  had  a  quizzing  smile  on  his  auda- 
cious face  ;  he  seemed  to  be  talking  to  her  as  he  would  to 
a  child  of  fourteen.  Being  a  woman  of  eighteen,  and  sen- 
sitive, she  was  not  pleased  by  his  confident  fiimiliarity, 
and  in  her  inexperience  she  showed  her  annoyance  perhaps 
a  little  more  plainly  than  was  quite  dignified.  After 
watching  her  for  a  moment  or  two  with  his  wide-open, 
unwinking  eyes,  he  suddenly  changed  his  tone,  and  ad- 
dressed her  with  an  air  of  entirely  satisfactory  respect. 
The  truth  is  that  he  could  not  help  being  at  times  semi- 
impertinent  to  young  ladies  ;  but  then  he  had  delicacy  of 
breeding  enough  to  know  when  he  was  so  ;  he  did  not  quiz 
them  in  mere  boorish  stuiDidity. 

"  I  should  be  truly  delighted,"  he  said,  "  I  should  con^ 
sider  it  one  of  the  greatest  honors  possible  to  me — if  I 
could  do  somethmg  towards  opening  your  way  back  to 
your  own  home." 

"  Oh  !  I  wish  you  could,"  she  replied  with  enthusiasm. 
"  I  do  so  want  to  get  back  to  Louisiana.  But  I  don't 
want  the  South  whipped.     I  want  peace." 

"  Do  you  ?  That  is  a  bad  wish  for  me,"  observed  Car- 
ter, with  his  characteristic  frankness,  coolly  wondering  to 
himself  how  he  would  be  able  to  live  without  his  colonelcy. 
As  to  how  he  could  pay  the  thousand  or  two  which  he 
owed  to  tailors,  shoemakers,  restaurateurs  and  wme 
merchants,  that  was  never  to  him  a  matter  of  marvel 
or  of  anxiety,  or  even  of  consideration. 

In  obedience  to  a  cm'ious  instinct  which  exists  in  at  least 
some  feminine  natures,  Miss  Ravenel  liked  the  Colonel,  or 
at  least  felt  that  she  could  like  him,  just  in  proportion  as 
she  feared  him.  A  man  who  can  make  some  women  trem- 
ble, can,  if  he  chooses,  make  them  love.  Pure  and  modest 
as  this  girl  of  eighteen  was,  she  could,  and  I  fear,  would 
have  fallen  des2:)erately  in  love  with  this  toughened  world- 
ling, had  he,  with  his  despotic  temperament,   resolutely 


Feom    Secession    to    Loyalty.         103 

willed  it.      In  justice  to  her  it  must  be  remembered  that 
she  knew  little  or  nothuig  about  his  various  naughty  ways. 
In    her  presence  he  never  swore,  nor  got  the  worse  for 
liquor,  nor  alluded  to  scenes  of  dissipation.      At  church  he 
decorously    put    dowTi    his    head   while  one  could  count 
twenty,  and  made  the  responses  with  a  politeness  meant 
to    be    complimentary    to    the    parties   addressed.      Her 
father  hmted ;  but  she  thought  him  unreasonably  preju- 
diced;  she  made  what  she  considered  the  proper  allow- 
ance for  men  who  wore  uniforms.     She  had  very    little 
idea  of  the  stupendous  discount  which  would  have  to  be 
admitted  before  Colonel  Carter  could  figure  up  as  an  an- 
o-el  of  light,  or  even  as  a  decently  \drtuous  member  of 
human  society.     She  thought  she  stated  the  whole  sub- 
ject fairly  when  she  admitted  that  he  might  be  "  fast ;" 
but  she  had  an  mnocently  inadequate  conception  of  the 
meanino'  which  the  masculiue  sex  attaches  to  that  epithet. 
She  applied  it  to  him  chiefly  because  he    had    the    mu- 
mental  self-possession,  the  graceM  audacity,  the  free  and 
easy  fluency,  the  little  ways,  the  general  au-,  of  certam 
men  in  Xew  Orleans  who  had  been  pomted  out  to  her  as 
"  fafl^"  and  concernuig  whom  there  were  dubious  Avhisper- 
ingsamong  elderly  dowagers,  but  of  whom  she  actually 
knew  little  more  than  that  they  had  good  manners  and 
were  favorites  with  most  ladies.      She  had  learned  to  con- 
sider the  type  a  satisfactory  one,   without  at  all  appreci- 
ating its   moral  signification.      That  Colonel  Carter  had 
been  downright  wicked  and  was  still  capable  of  being  so 
under  a  moderate  pressure  of  temptation,  she  did  not  be- 
lieve with  any  reahzing  and  savmg  faith.      Balzac  says 
that  very  corrupt   people  are   generally  very  agreeable; 
and  it  may  be  that  this  extraordiuary  fact  is  capable  of  a 
simple  and  sufficient  explanation.     They  are  seared  and 
do  not  take  thing  seriously ;  they  do  not  contradict  you 
on  this  propriety  and  that  belief,  because  they  care  noth- 
ing about  proprieties  and  beliefs  ;  they  love  nothiug,  hate 
nothiao-,  and  are  as  easy  to  weai*  as  old  slippers.      The 


104  Miss    Ravexel's     Conversion 

strict  moralist  and  j^ietcst,  on  the  other  hand,  is  as  hard 
and  unyielding  as  a  boot  just  from  the  hands  of  the 
maker ;  you  must  conform  to  his  model,  or  he  will  consci- 
entiously pinch  your  moral  corns  in  a  most  grievous  man- 
ner ;  he  cannot  grant  you  a  hair's-breadth  "without  burst- 
ing his  uppers  and  endangermg  his  sole.  But  j^leasant  as 
our  corruj^t  friends  are  apt  to  be,  you  must  not  trust  your 
affections  and  your  happiness  to  them,  or  you  may  find 
that  you  have  cast  your  j^earls  before  the  unclean. 

These  reflections  are  not  perhaps  of  the  newest,  but  they 
are  just  as  true  as  when  they  were  first  promulgated. 

Concerning  the  i^ossible  flirtation  to  which  I  have  al- 
luded Doctor  Ravenel  was  constauly  ill  at  ease.  If  he  found 
on  returning  from  a  walk  that'  Lillie  had  received  a  call 
from  the  Colonel  during  his  absence,  he  was  secretly 
worried  and  sometimes  openly  peevish  for  hours  afterward. 
He  would  break  out  uj^on  that  sort  of  people,  though  al- 
w^ays  without  mentioning  names ;  and  the  absent  Carter 
would  receive  a  severe  lashing  over  the  back  of  some  gen- 
tleman whom  Lillie  had  known  or  heard  of  in  Xew  Orleans. 

"  I  don't  see  how  I  ever  lived  among  such  a  disre2:)utable 
population,"  he  would  say.  "  I  look  upon  myself  IMne- 
times  as  a  man  who  has  just  come  from  a  twenty-five 
year's  residence  among  the  wealthy  and  genteel  pirates  of 
the  Isle  of  Pmes.  I  actually  feel  that  I  have  no  claims 
upon  a  decent  society  to  be  received  as  a  respectable 
character.  If  a  Xew  Boston  man  should  refuse  to  shake 
hands  with  me  on  the  ground  that  my  associations  had 
not  been  what  they  should  be,  I  could  not  find  it  m  my 
heart  to  disagree  with  him.  Among  that  people  I  used  to 
wonder  at  the  j^atience  of  the  Almighty.  I  obtained  a 
conception  of  his  long-suffermg  mercies  such  as  I  could 
not  have  obtained  in  a  virtuous  community.  Just  look  at 
that  Colonel  McAllister,  who  used  to  be  the  brightest 
ornament  of  New  Orleans  fashion.  A  mass  of  corrujDtion ! 
The  immoral  odor  of  him  must  have  been  an  offense  to  the 
heavens.     I  can  imagme  the  angels  and  glorified  spirits 


From     Secessions'    to     Loyalty.         105 

looking  down  at  him  witli  disgust,  and  actually  holding 
their  noses,  like  the  kmg  in  Oreagna's  picture  when  he 
comes  across  the  dead  body.  There  neyer  Avas  a  subject 
brought  into  our  dissecting  room  so  abominable  to  the 
physical  senses  as  that  man  was  to  the  moral  sense." 

"Oh,  i^apa,  don't!",  implored  Miss  Lillie.  "You  talk 
most  horridly  when  you  get  started  on  certam  subjects." 

"  My  conversation  is'nt  half  pungent  enough  to  do  jus- 
tice to  the  perfume  of  the  subject,"  insisted  the  Doctor. 
"  When  I  speak  or  try  to  speak  of  that  McAllister,  and  of 
similar  people  to  be  met  therp  and  everywhere,  I  am 
obliged  to  admit  the  inadequacy  of  language.  ^NTothing 
but  the  last  trump  can  utter  a  sound  appropriate  to  such 
personages." 

"  But  Colonel  McAllister  is  a  very  respectable  middle- 
aged  planter  now,  papa,"  said  Lillie. 

"  Respectable  !  Oh,  my  child !  do  not  persist  m  talking 
as  if  you  were  still  in  the  nursery.  Samt  Paul,  Pascal, 
Wilberforce  couldn't  have  remained  respectable  if  they 
had  been  slaveholding  planters." 

To  Colonel  Carter  personally  the  Doctor  was  perfectly 
civil,^as  he  was  to  every  one  with  whom  he  was  obliged 
to  come  in  contact,  including  the  reprobated  McAllister 
and  his  similars.  Even  had  he  been  of  a  combative  dis- 
position, or  been  twice  as  prejudiced  against  Carter  as  he 
was,  he  could  not  have  brought  himself  in  these  days  and 
with  his  present  loyal  enthusiasm,  to  discourteously  en- 
treat an  officer  who  wore  the  United  States  uniform  and 
who  had  bled  in  the  cause  of  country  against  treason. 
Moreover  he  felt  a  certain  degree  of  good-will  towards 
our  military  roue,  as  being  the  patron  of  his  particular 
friend  Colburne.  Of  this  young  man  he  seemed  almost  as 
fond  as  if  he  were  his  father,  without,  however,  entertain- 
ing the  slightest  thought  of  gainmg  him  for  a  son-in-law. 
I  never  knew,  nor  read  of,  not  even  in  the  most  unnatural 
novels,  an  American  father  who  was  a  matchmaker. 

So  the  autumn  and  half  the  winter  passed  away,  with- 
E  2 


106        Miss    R  a  vex  el's     Conversion 

out  any  one  falling  in  love,  unless  it  might  be  Colburne. 
It  needed  all  his  good  sense  to  keep  him  from  it ;  or  rather 
to  keep  him  from  paymg  Miss.  Ravenel  what  are  called 
significant  attentions  ;  for  as  to  his  being  in  love,  1  admit 
it,  although  he  did  not.  To  use  old-fashioned  language, 
alarming  m  its  directness  and  strength  of  meaning,  I  sup- 
pose he  Avould  have  courted  her  if  she  would  have  let  him. 
But  there  was  something  m  the  young  lady's  manner  to- 
wards him  which  kept  him  at  arm's  length ;  which  had 
the  charm  of  friendshii),  indeed,  but  no  faintest  odor  of 
even  the  possibility  of  love,  just  as  certain  flowers  have 
beauty  but  no  perfume ;  which  said  to  liim  very  gently 
but  also  very  firmly,  "  Mr.  Colbm-ne,  you  had  better  not 
be  iQ  a  hurry." 

At  times  he  was  under  sudden  and  violent  temptation. 
The  trustmg  Doctor  placed  Lillie  under  his  charge  to  go 
to  one  or  two  concerts  and  popular  lectures,  following 
therein  the  simple  and  virtuous  ways  of  Xew  Boston, 
where  young  ladies  have  a  freedom  which  in  larger  and 
wickeder  cities  is  only  accorded  to  married  women.  On 
the  way  to  and  from  thes^  amusements,  Lillie's  hand  resting 
lisihtly  on  his  arm,  and  the  obscurity  of  the  streets  veiling 
T^-hatever  reproof  or  warning  might  sparkle  m  her  eyes, 
his  heart  was  more  urgent  and  his  soul  less  titnid  than 
usual. 

•  "I  have  only  one  subject  of  regret  in  going  to  the  war," 
he  once  said ;  "  and  that  is  that  I  shall  not  see  you  for  a 
long  time,  and  may  never  see  you  agam." 

There  was  a  magnetic  tremulousness  in  his  voice  wliich 
thrilled  through  Miss  Ravenel  and  made  it  difficult  for  her 
to  breathe  naturally.  For  a  few  seconds  she  could  not 
answer,  any  more  than  he  could  continue.  She  felt  as  we 
do  in  dreams  when  we  seem  to  stand  on  the  edge  of  a 
gulf-  wavering  whether  we  shall  fall  backward  into  safety 
or  forward  into  the  unknown.  It  was  one  of  the  perilous 
and  decisive  moments  of  the  young  lady's  life ;  but  the 
end  of  it  was  that  she  recovered  self-possession  enough  to 


Feom    Secession    to     Loyalty.         107 

speak  before  he  could  rally  to  pursue  Ms  advantage. 
Ten  seconds  more  of  silence  might  have  resulted  in  an  en- 
gagement ring. 

"  What  a  hard  heart  you  have  !"  she  laughed.  "  INT o 
greater  cause  of  regret  than  that !  And  here  you  are,  go- 
ing to  lay  waste  my  country,  and  perhaps  burn  up  my 
house.     You  abolitionists  are  dreadful." 

He  immediately  changed  his  manner  of  conversation 
with  a  painful  consciousness  that  she  had  as  good  as  or- 
dered him  to  do  so. 

"  Oh  !  I  have  no  sort  of  compunction  about  turning  the 
South  mto  a  desert,"  he  said,  T\TLth  a  poor  attempt  at  mak- 
ing merry.  "  I  mean  to  take  a  bag  of  salt  with  me,  and 
sow  all  Louisiana  with  it." 

And  the  rest  of  the  dialogue,  until  he  left  her  at  the 
door  of  the  hotel,  was  conducted  in  the  same  style  of  la- 
borious and  painful  trifling. 

As  the  day  aj^proached  for  the  sailing  of  the  regiment, 
Colburne  looked  forward  with  dread  yet  with  eagerness 
to  the  last  interview.  At  times  he  thought  and  hoped 
and  almost  expected  that  it  would  bring  about  some  decis- 
ive expression  of  feeling  which  should  give  a  desirable  di- 
rection to  the  perverse  heart  of  this  inexplicable  young- 
lady.  Then  he  reflected  during  certain  flashes  of  pure 
reason,  how  foolish,  how  cruel  it  would  be  to  win  her  af- 
fection only  to  quit  her  on  the  instant,  certainly  for 
months,  probably  for  years,  perhaps  for  ever.  Moreover, 
suppose  he  should  lose  a  leg  or  a  nose  in  his  first  battle, 
how  could  he  demand  that  she  should  keej)  her  vows,  and 
yet  how  could  he  give  her  up  ?  But  these  last  interviews 
are  frequently  unsatisfactory ;  and  the  one  which  Col- 
burne excitedly  anticij^ated  was  eminently  so.  It  took 
place  in  the  public  parlor  of  the  hotel ;  the  Doctor  was 
present,  and  so  were  several  dowager  boarders.  The  regi- 
ment had  marched  through  the  city  in  the  afternoon,  sur- 
rounded and  cheered  by  crowds  of  enthusiastic  citizens, 
and  was  already  on  board  of  the  coasting  steamer  which 


108         Miss     Raven  el's    Conversion 

would  transfer  it  to  the  ocean  transport  at  Xew  Yoik. 
Colburne  had  obtamed  permission  to  remain  in  Xew  Bos- 
ton until  the  evening  through  train  from  the  east. 

"  Tliis  is  a  proud  day  for  you,"  said  the  warm-hearted 
Doctor.  "  But  I  must  say  that  it  is  a  sad  one  for  me.  I 
am  truly  o-rieved  to  think  how  long  it  may  be  before  we 
shall  see  you  again." 

"  I  hope  not  very  long,"  answered  the  young  man  with 
a  gravity  and  sadness  which  did  not  consort  with  liis 
words. 

He  was  pale,  nervous  and  feverish,  partly  from  lack  of 
sleep  the  night  before. 

"  I  really  think  it  will  not  be  very  long,"  he  repeated 
after  a  moment. 

Xow  tliat  peace  was  apparently  his  only  chance  of  re- 
turning to  Miss  Ravenel,  he  longed  for  it,  and  like  most 
yoimi:?  people  he  could  muster  confidence  to  believe  in 
what  he  hoped.  Moreover  it  was  at  this  time  a  matter  of 
northern  faith  that  the  contest  could  not  last  a  year  ;  that 
the  great  army  which  was  being  drilled  and  disciplined 
on  the  banks  of  the  Potomac  would  prove  irresistible 
when  it  should  take  the  field ;  that  McClellan  would  find 
no  difficulty  in  trampling  out  the  life  of  the  rebellion. 
Colonel  Carter,  Doctor  Ravenel  and  a  few  obstinate  old 
hunker  democrats  were  l^e  only  persons  in  the  httle  State 
of  Barataria  who  did  not  give  way  to  this  popular  con- 
viction. 

"Where  are  you  going,  Mr.  Colburne?"  asked  Lillie 
eagerly. 

"  I  don't  know,  really.  The  Colonel  has  received  sealed 
orders.  He  is  not  to  open  them  until  we  have  been 
twenty-four  hours  at  sea." 

"  Oh  !  I  think  that  is  a  shame.     I  do  think  that  is  abom- 
inable," said  the  young  lady  with  excitement.     She  was 
very  inquisitive  by  nature,  and  she  was  particularly  anx- 
ious to  know  if  the  regiment  would  reach  Louisiana. 
"  I  am  inclined  to  believe  that  we  shall  go  to  Yhginia," 


From.    Secessiox    to     Loyalty.  109 

resumed  Colbnrne.  "I  hope  so.  The  great  battle  of  the 
war  is  to  be  fought  there,  and  I  want  to  take  part  hi  it." 

Poor  young  man !  he  felt  like  saying  that  he  wanted  to 
be  killed  m  it ;  mistaken  young  man !  he  believed  that 
there  would  be  but  one  great  battle. 

"  Wherever  you  go  you  will  be  doing  your  duty  as  a 
patriot  and  a  friend  of  the  interests  of  humanity,"  put  in 
the  Doctor,  emphatically.  I  confidently  anticipate  for  you 
the  greatest  successes.  I  anticipate  your  personal  success. 
Colonel  Carter  will  undoubtedly  be  made  a  general,  and 
you  will  return  the  commander  of  your  regiment.  But 
even  if  you  never  receive  a  grade  of  promotion,  nor  have 
a  chance  to  strike  a  blow  m  battle,  you  will  still  have  per- 
formed one  of  the  highest  duties  of  manhood  and  be  en- 
titled to  our  lastmg  respect.  I  sincerely  and  fervently 
envy  you  the  feelings  which  you  will  be  able  to  carry 
through  life." 

"  Thank  you,  sir,"  was  all  the  answer  that  Colburne 
could  think  of  at  the  moment. 

"  If  you  find  yourself  near  a  post-office  you  Avill  let  us 
know  it,  won't  you?"  asked  Lillie  with  a  thoughtless 
frankness  for  which  she  immediately  blushed  painfully. 
In  the  desire  to  know  whether  Louisiana  would  be  at- 
tacked and  assaulted  by  Colonel  Carter,  she  had  said  more 
than  she  meant. 

Colburne  brightened  into  a  grateful  smile  at  the  idea 
that  he  might  venture  to  write  to  her. 

"  Certainly,"  added  the  Doctor.  "  You  must  send  me  a 
letter  at  once  when  you  reach  your  destination." 

Colburne  promised  as  he  was  required,  but  not  with  the 
light  heart  which  had  shone  in  liis  face  an  instant  before. 
It  was  sadly  clear,  he  thought,  that  he  must  not  on  any 
account  write  to  Miss  Ravenel. 

"  And  now  I  must  say  good-bye,  and  God  bless  you," 
he  sighed,  putting  out  his  hand  to  the  young  lady,  while 
his  face  grew  perceptibly  whiter,  if  we  may  believe  the  re- 
ports of  the  much  affected  dowager  spectators. 


110        Miss     Raven  el's     Conversion 

As  Miss  Ravenel  gave  liim  her  hand,  her  cheeks  also 
became  discolored,  not  with  pallor  however,  but  only 
with  her  customary  blush  when  excited. 

"  I  do  hope  you  will  not  be  hurt,"  she  murmured. 

She  was  so  simply  kind  and  friendly  in  her  feelings  that 
she  did  not  notice  with  any  thrill  of  emotion  the  feiwent 
jn-essure,  the  clinging  as  of  despair,  with  which  he  held 
her  hand  for  a  few  seconds.  An  hour  afterward  she  re- 
membered it  suddenly,  blushing  as  she  interpreted  to  her- 
self its  significance,  but  with  no  sentiment  either  of  love 
or  anger. 

"  God  bless  you  !  God  bless  you !"  repeated  the  Doctor, 
much  moved.  "  Let  me  know  as  early  and  as  often  as 
possible  of  your  welfare.     Our  best  wishes  go  with  you." 

Colburne  had  found  the  interview  so  painful,  so  differ- 
ent from  what  his  hopes  had  pictured  it,  that,  under  pre- 
tence of  bidding  farewell  to  other  friends,  he  left  the  hotel 
half  an  hour  before  the  arrival  of  his  train.  As  he  passed 
through  the  outer  door  he  met  the  Colonel  entering. 

"  Ah  !  paid  you  adieux  ?"  said  Carter  in  his  rough-and- 
ready,  jaunty  way.  "  I  must  say  good-bye  to  those  nice 
people.     Meet  you  at  the  train." 

Colburne  merely  replied,  "  Very  well  sir,"  with  a  heart 
as  gloomy  as  the  sour  February  weather,  and  strolled 
away,  not  to  take  leave  of  any  more  friends,  but  to  smoke 
an  anchorite,  uncomforting  segar  in  the  purlieus  of  the  sta- 
tion. 

"  Delighted  to  have  found  you,"  said  the  Colonel  inter- 
cepting the  Ravenels  as  they  were  leavuig  the  parlor  for 
their  rooms.  "  31iss  Ravenel,  I  have  neglected  my  duty  for 
the  sake  of  the  pleasure — no,  the  pain,  of  bidding  you 
good-bye." 

The  Doctor  cringed  at  this  speech,  but  expressed  delight 
at  the  visit.  Lillie  adorned  the  occasion  by  a  blush  as 
sumptuous  as  a  bouquet  of  roses,  and  led  the  way  back  to 
the  parlor,    defiant    of  her  father's  evident  intention  to 


From    Secession     to    Loyalty.        Ill 

shorten  the  scene  by  remaining  standing  in  the  hall.  The 
Doctor,  finding  himself  thus  out-generalled,  retorted  by 
taking  the  lead  in  the  conversation,  and  talked  volubly  for 
ten  minutes  of  the  magnificent  appeamnce  of  the  regiment 
as  it  marched  through  the  city,  of  the  probable  length  of 
the  war,  and  of  the  differing  characteristics  of  northerners 
and  southerners.  Meanwhile  Miss  Ravenel  sat  quietly, 
after  the  fashion  of  a  French  demoiselle,  saymg  nothing, 
but  pertaps  thmking  all  the  more  dangerously.  At  last 
the  Colonel  broke  loose  from  the  father  and  resolutely  ad- 
dressed himself  to  the  daughter. 

"  Jkliss  Ravenel,  I  suppose  that  you  have  not  a  friendly 
wish  to  send  with  me." 

"  I  don't  know  why  I  should  have,"  she  replied,  "  un- 
til I  know  that  you  are  not  going  to  harm  my  people. 
But  I  have  no  very  bad  wishes." 

"  Thank  you  for  that,"  he  said  with  a  more  serious  air 
than  usual.  "  I  do  sincerely  desire  that  your  feelings 
were  such  as  that  I  could  consider  myself  to  be  fighting 
your  cause.  Perhaps  you  will  find  before  we  get  through 
that  I  am  fighting  it.  If  we  should  go  to  New  Orleans — 
which  is  among  the  possibilities — it  may  be  the  means  of 
restoring  you  to  your  home." 

"  Oh !  I  should  thank  you  for  that— almost.  I  should 
be  tempted  to  feel  that  the  end  justified  the  means." 

"  Let  me  hope  that  I  shall  meet  you  there,  or  some- 
where, soon,"     he  added,  rising. 

His  manner  was  certainly  more  earnest  and  impressive 
than  it  had  ever  been  before  in  addressing  her.  The  tre- 
mor of  her  hand  was  perceptible  to  the  strong  steady  hand 
which  took  it,  and  her  eyes  dropped  under  the  firm  gaze 
which  met  them,  and  which  for  the  first  time,  she  thought, 
had  an  expression  deeply  significant  to  her. 

"If  she  turns  out  to  have  any  prospects"— thought  the 
Colonel  as  he  went  down  stairs.  "  If  they  ever  get  back 
their  southern  property" — 


312         Miss     1 1  a  v  e  x  e  l  '  s     Conversion 

He  left  the  sentence  unfinished  on  the  writing  tablets 
of  his  soul,  to  light  a  segar.  His  impulses  and  passions 
were  strong  when  once  aroused,  but  on  this  subject  they 
had  only  begun  to  awaken. 


CHAPTER  IX. 

FROM   N:EW  boston   to   new   ORLEANS,   VIA   FORT  JACKSON. 

"  By  "  (this '•and  that)  !  swore  Colonel  Carter  to  him- 
self when,  twenty-four  hours  out  from  Sandy  Hook,  he 
oj^ened  his  sealed  orders  in  the  privacy  of  his  state-room. 
"Butler  has  got  an  expedition  to  himself  We  are  in  for 
a  round  of  Big  Bethels  as  sure  as  "  (this  and  that  and  the 
other.) 

I  wish  it  to  be  understood  that  I  do  not  endorse  the 
above  criticism  on  the  celebrated  2:)roconsul  of  Louisiana. 
I  am  not  sketching  the  life  of  General  Butler,  but  of  Colo- 
nel Carter — I  am  not  trying  to  show  how  things  really 
were,  but  only  how  the  Colonel  looked  at  them. 

Carter  opened  the  door  and  looked  mto  the  cabin.' 
There  stood  a  particularly  clean  soldier  of  the  Tenth,  his 
uniform  carefully  brushed,  his  shoes,  belts,  cartridge-box 
and  cap-pouch  blacked,  his  buttons  and  brasses  shinhig 
like  morning  suns,  white  cotton  gloves  on  his  hands,  and 
his  bayonet  in  its  scabbard,  but  without  a  musket.  Being 
the  neatest  man  of  all  those  detailed  for  guard  that  morn- 
ing, he  had  been  selected  by  the  Adjutant  as  the  Colonel's 
orderly.  He  saluted  his  commander  by  carrying  his  right 
hand  open  to  his  fore-piece,  then  well  out  to  the  right, 
then  dropping  it  with  the  little  finger  agamst  the  seam 
of  his  trousers,  meanwhile  standing  bolt  upright  with  his 
heels  well  together.  The  Colonel  surveyed  hun  from  top 
to  toe  with  a  look  of  approbation. 

"  Very  well,  orderly,"  said  he.  "  Very  clean  and  sol- 
dierly.    Been  in  the  old  army,  I  see." 


From     Secessiox    to     Loyalty.  113 

Here  he  gratified  himself  with  another  full-length  in- 
spection of  this  statue  of  neatness  and  speechless  respect. 

"  Xow  go  to  the  captam  of  the  vessel,"  he  added,  "  give 
him  my  compliments,  and  request  him  to  step  to  my  state- 
room." 

The  orderly  saluted  again,  faced  about  as  if  on  a  pivot, 
and  walked  away. 

"  Here,  come  back,  sir,"  called  the  Colonel.  "  ^V^hat 
did  I  tell  you?" 

"  You  told  me,  sir,  to  give  your  compliments  to  the 
captain  of  the  vessel,  and  request  him  to  step  to  your 
state-room,"  replied  the  soldier. 

"  My  God  !  he  understood  the  first  time,"  exclaimed  the 
Colonel.  "  Been  in  the  old  army,  I  see.  Quite  right,  su* ; 
go  on." 

In  a  few  minutes  the  marine  functionary  was  closeted 
with  the  military  potentiality. 

"  Sit  down.  Captain,"  said  the  Colonel.  "  Take  a  glass 
of  wine." 

"  Ko,  thank  you.  Colonel,"  said  the  Captain,  a  small, 
brown,  quiet-mannered,  taciturn  man  of  forty-five,  his 
iron-grey  locks  carefully  oiled  and  brushed,  and  his  dark- 
blue  mornmg-suit  as  neat  as  possible.  "  I  make  it  a  nile 
at  sea,"  he  added,  "  never  to  take  any  thing  but  a  bottle 
of  porter  at  dinner." 

"  Very  good  :  never  get  drunk  on  duty — good  rule," 
laughed  the  Colonel.  "  Well,  here  are  our  orders.  Look 
them  over,  Captam,  if  you  please." 

The  Captain  read,  lifted  his  eyebrows  with  an  ah*  of 
comprehension,  put  the  paper  back  in  the  envelope,  re- 
turned it  to  the  Colonel,  and  remarked,  "  Ship  Island." 

"  It  would  be  best  to  say  nothing  about  it  at  present," 
observed  Carter.  "  Some  accident  may  yet  send  us  back 
to  Xew  York,  and  then  the  thing  would  be  known  earlier 
than  the  War  Department  wants." 

"  Very  good.  I  will  lay  the  j^roper  course,  and  say  no- 
thing:." 


114         Miss    Ravenel's     Conversion 

And  so,  with  a  little  further  talk  about  cleanmg  quar- 
ters and  cooking  rations,  the  interview  terminated.  It 
was  not  till  the  transport  was  off  the  beach  of  Ship  Island 
that  the  Tenth  Barataria  became  aware  of  its  destination. 
Meantime,  takmg  advantage  of  a  run  of  smooth  weather, 
Carter  disciplmed  his  green  regiment  into  a  state  of  clean- 
liness, order  and  subserviency,  which  made  it  a  wonder 
to  itself.  He  had  two  daily  inspections  with  regard  to 
personal  cleanlmess,  going  through  the  companies  himself, 
praising  the  neat  and  remorselessly  punishmg  the  dirty. 
"  What  do  you  mean  by  such  hair  as  that,  sir  ?"  he  would 
say,  j^okmg  up  a  set  of  long  locks  with  the  hilt  of  his  sa- 
bre. "  Have  it  off  before  night,  sir.  Have  it  cut  short 
and  neatly  combed  by  to-mon-ow  morning." 

For  offences  which  to  the  freeborn  American  citizen 
seemed  peccadilloes  or  even  virtues,  (such  as  saying  to  a 
second-lieutenant,  "  I  am  as  good  as  you  are,")  men  were 
seized  up  by  the  wrists  to  the  riggmg  with  their  toes 
scarcely  touching  the  deck.  The  soldiers  had  to  obey  or- 
ders without  a  word,  to  touch  their  caps  to  officers,  to 
stop  chaffing  the  sentinels,  to  keep  off  the  quarter-deck, 
and  out  of  the  cabin. 

"  By  (this  and  that)  I'll  teach  them  to  be  soldiers," 
swore  the  Colonel.  "  They  had  theu'  skylarking  in  Bara- 
taria.    They  are  on  duty  now." 

The  men  were  not  pleased ;  freeborn  Americans  could 
not  at  first  be  gratified  with  such  despotism,  however  sal- 
utary ;  but  they  were  intelligent  enough  to  see  that  there 
was  a  hard,  j^ractical  sense  at  the  bottom  of  it ;  they  not 
only  feared  and  obeyed,  but  they  respected.  Every  Amer- 
ican who  is  true  to  his  national  education  regards  with 
consideration  a  man  who  knows  his  own  business.  When- 
ever the  Colonel  walked  on  the  mam  deck,  or  m  the  hold 
where  the  men  were  quartered,  there  was  a  silence,  a 
quiet  standing  out  of  the  way,  a  rising  to  the  feet,  and  a 
touching  of  fore-pieces.  To  his  officers  Carter  was  distant 
and  authoritative,  although  formally  courteous.     It  was, 


From    Secession    to    Loyalty.         115 

"  Lieutenant,  have  the  goodness  to  order  those  men  down 
from  the  riggmg,  and  to  keep  them  down ;"  and  when  the 
officer  of  the  day  reported  that  the  job  was  done,  it  was, 
"  Very  well.  Lieutenant,  much  obliged  to  you."  Even  the 
private  soldiers  whom  he  berated  and  punished  were 
scrupulously  addressed  by  the  title  of  "  Sk." 

"  My  God,  sir  !  I  ought  not  to  be  obliged  to  speak  to 
the  enlisted  men  at  all,"  he  observed  apologetically  to  the 
captain  of  the  transport.  "  A  colonel  in  the  old  army  was 
a  little  deity,  a  Grand  Lama,  who  never  opened  his  mouth 
Qxcept  on  the  greatest  occasions.  But  my  officers,  you 
see,  don't  know  their  busmess.  I  am  as  badly  off  as  you 
would  be  if  your  mates,  sailors  and  firemen  were  all  farm- 
ers.    I  must  attend  to  things  myself" 

"  Captam  Colburne,"  he  said  on  another  occasion,  "  how 
about  your  property  returns  ?  Have  the  goodness  to  let 
me  look  at  them." 

Colburne  brought  two  packets  of  neatly  folded  papers, 
tied  up  m  the  famous,  the  historical,  the  proverbial  red  tape, 
and  endorsed  ;  the  one,  "  Return  of  Ordnance  and  Ordnance 
Stores  appertammg  to  Co.  1, 10th  Regt.  Barataria  Vols.,  for 
the  quarter  endmg  December  31st,  1861 ;"  the  other, 
"  Return  of  Clothmg  and  Camp  and  Garrison  Equipage 
appertainmg  to  Co.  I,  10th  Regt.  Barataria  Vols.,  for  the 
quarter  endmg  Dec.  31st,  1861."  Carter  glanced  over  the 
footings,  the  receipts  and  the  invoices  with  the  prompt  and 
accurate  eye  of  a  bank  accountant. 

"  Correct,"  said  he.  "  Very  much  to  your  credit.  Captain. 

Orderly  !  give  my  compliments  to  all  the  commandants 

of  companies,  and  request  them  to  call  on  me  immediately 
in  the  after  cabin." 

One  after  another  the  captains  walked  m,  saluted,  and 
took  seats  m  obedience  to  a  wave  of  the  Colonel's  hand. 

"  Gentlemen,"  he  began,  "  those  of  you  who  have  finished 
your  property  returns  for  the  last  quarter  will  send  them 
in  to  the  adjutant  this  afternoon  for  examination.  Those 
who  have  not,  will  proceed  to  complete  them  immediately. 


116  Miss     Ray  en  el's     Conversion 

If  you  need  any  instructions,  you  will  apply  to  Captain 
Colburne.  His  papers  are  correct.  Gentlemen,  the  United 
States  Army  Kegulations  are  as  important  to  you  as  the 
United  States  Army  Tactics.  Ignorance  of  one  will  get 
you  into  trouble  as  surely  as  ignorance  of  the  other. 
Such  parts  of  the  Regulation  as  refer  to  the  army  account- 
ability system  are  of  especial  consequence  to  your  pockets. 
Neglect  your  returns,  and  you  will  get  your  pay  stopped. 
This  is  not  properly  my  business.  You  are  responsible 
for  yourselves  directly  to  the  'War  Department.  But  I 
wish  to  set  you  on  the  right  path.  You  ought  to  take  ^ 
pride,  gentlemen,  m  learning  the  whole  of  your  profession, 
even  if  you  are  sure  that  the  war  will  not  last  three 
months.  If  a  thing  is  worth  learnmg  at  all  it  should  be 
learned  well,  if  only  for  the  good  of  a  man's  own  soul. 
Never  do  a  duty  by  halves.  No  man  of  any  self-respect 
will  accept  an  officer's  pay  without  performing  the  whole 
of  an  officer's  duty.  And  this  accountability  system  is 
worth  study.  It  is  the  most  admirable  system  of  book- 
keeping that  ever  was  devised.  John  C.  Calhoun  perfected 
it  when  he  was  Secretary  of  War  and  at  the  top  of  his  intel- 
lectual powers.  I  have  no  hesitation  in  saymg  that  a  man 
who  can  account  truthfully  and  without  loss  for  all  the 
public  property  m  a  company,  accordmg  to  this  system,  is 
able  to  master  the  busmess  of  any  mercantile  house  or 
banking  establishment.  The  system  is  as  minute  and  m- 
exorable  as  a  balance-sheet.  When  I  was  a  boy,  just  out 
of  West  Point  and  in  command  of  a  company  on  the  Indian 
frontier,  I  took  part  m  a  skirmish.  I  was  as  vam  over  my 
first  fight  as  a  kitten  over  its  first  mouse.  I  thought  the 
fame  of  it  must  illuminate  Washington  and  dazzle  the 
clerks  in  the  department  offices.  In  my  next  return  I 
accounted  for  three  missing  ball-screws  as  lost  in  the  en- 
gagement of  Ti-apper's  Bluti".  I  supposed  the  army  ac- 
countability system  would  bow  to  a  second-lieutenant 
who  had  been  under  fire.  But,  gentlemen,  it  did  no  such 
thuio-.  I  crot  a  letter  from  the  Chief  of  Ordnance  informing 


Fkom     Secession    to     Loyalty.        117 

me  that  I  must  state  circumstantially  and  on  honor  how 
the  three  ball-screws  were  lost.  I  couldn't  do  it,  couldn't 
make  out  a  satisfactory  certificate,  and  had  them  taken 
out  of  my  pay.  I,  the  hero  of  an  engagement,  who  had 
personally  shot  a  Pawnee,  was  charged  thirty-nine  cents 
for  three  ball-screws." 

Emboldened  by  the  Colonel's  smiles  of  grim  humor  the 
audience  burst  into  a  laugh. 

"I  knew  another  case,"  he  proceeded.  "A  young 
fellow  was  appointed  quartermaster  at  Puget  Sound. 
About  a  year  after  he  had  sent  in  his  first  return  he  was 
notified  by  the  Quartermaster  General  that  it  did  not  pro- 
perly account  for  certam  cap  letters,  value  five  cents.  In- 
dignant at  what  he  considered  such  small-beer  fault-find- 
ing, he  immediately  mailed  five  cents  to  Washington, 
with  a  statement  that  it  was  intended  to  cover  the  defi- 
ciency. Six  months  later  he  received  a  sharp  note  from 
the  Quartermaster  General,  returning  him  his  five  cents, 
informing  him  that  the  department  was  not  accustomed  to 
settle  accounts  in  that  manner,  and  directing  him  to  for- 
ward the  proper  papers  concerning  the  missing  property 
under  penalty  of  being  reported  to  the  Adjutant  General. 
The  last  I  knew  of  him  he  was  still  corresponding  on  the 
subject,  and  hoping  that  the  rebels  would  take  enough  of 
Washington  to  burn  the  quartermaster's  department. 
Now,  gentlemen,  this  is  not  nonsense.  It  is  business  and 
sense,  as  any  bank  cashier  will  tell  you.  Red-Tapo 
means  order,  accuracy,  honesty,  solvency.  A  defalcation 
of  five  cents  is  as  bad  in  principle  as  a  defalcation  of  a 
million.  I  tell  you  these  stories  to  give  you  an  idea 
of  w^hat  will  be  exacted  of  you  some  time  or  other,  it  may 
be  soon,  but  certainly  at  last.  I  wish  you  to  complete  your 
returns  as  soon  as  possible.  They  ought  to  have  gone  in 
long  since.     That  is  all,  gentlemen." 

"  I  talked  to  them  like  a  Dutch  uncle,"  said  Carter  to 
the  captain  of  the  transport,  after  relating  the  above  inter- 
view.    The  fact  is  that  in  the  regular  army  Ave  generally 


113         Miss     Ravexel's     C  ox  vers  ion 

left  the  returns  to  the  first  sergeants.  When  I  was  in 
command  of  a  company  I  gave  mine  the  ten  dollars 
monthly  for  accountability,  and  hardly  ever  saw  my 
papers  except  when  I  signed  them,  all  made  up  and  ready 
to  forward.  But  here  the  first  sergeants,  confound  them  ! 
don't  know  so  much  as  the  ofiicers.  The  officers  must  do 
every  thing  personally,  and  I  must  set  them  the  example." 

So  much  at  present  for  Carter  as  chief  of  a  volunteer, 
regiment  which  it  was  his  duty  and  pride  to  transform 
into  a  regiment  of  regulars.  Professionally  if  not  person- 
ally, as  a  soldier  if  not  as  a  man,  he  had  an  imperious 
conscience ;  and  his  aristocratic  breeding  and  tolerably 
liard  heart  enabled  him  to  obey  it  in  this  matter  of  disci- 
plme  without  hesitation  or  pity.  And  now,  in  the  calm 
leisure  of  this  winter  voyage  over  summer  seas,  let  us  go 
back  a  little  in  his  history,  and  see  what  kind  of  a  life  his 
had  been  outside  of  the  regulations  and  devoirs  of  the 
army. 

"  How  rapidly  times  change  !"  he  said  to  Colburne  m  a 
moment  of  unusual  communicativeness.  "  Three  years 
ago  I  expected  to  take  a  regiment  or  so  across  this  gulf 
on  a  very  different  errand.  I  was,  by  (this  and  that)  a 
filibuster  and  pro-slavery  champion  m  those  days;  at  least 
by  intention.  I  was  closeted  with  the  Lamars  and  the 
Soules — the  Governor  of  South  Carolina  and  the  Governor 
of  Mississippi  and  the  Governor  of  Louisiana — the  gentle- 
men who  proj^osed  to  carry  the  auction-block  of  freedom 
into  Yucatan,  Cuba,  the  island  of  Atalantis,  and  the  moon. 
I  exj^ected  to  be  a  second  Cortez.  Xot  that  I  cared 
much  about  their  pro-slavery  projects  and  palaverings.  I 
was  a  soldier  of  fortune,  only  anxious  for  active  service, 
pay  and  promotion.  I  might  have  been  monarch  of  all  I 
surveyed  by  this  time,  if  the  world  had  turned  as  we  ex- 
pected. But  this  vv^ar  broke  up  my  prosj^ects.  They  saw 
it  coming,  and  decided  that  they  must  husband  their  re- 
sources for  it.    It  was  necessary  to  take  sides  for  a  greater 


Feo:si     Secf.  ssiox     to     Loyalty.       119 

struggle  than  the  one  we  wanted.  They  chose  their  party, 
and  I  chose  mine." 

These  confessions  were  too  fragmentary  and  guarded  to 
satisfy  the  curiosity  of  Colburne  ;  but  he  subsequently  ob- 
tained information  in  the  South  from  which  he  was  able 
to  piece  out  this  part  of  Carter's  history ;  and  the  facts 
are  perhaps  worth  repeating  as  illustrative  of  the  man  and 
his  times.  Our  knowledge  is  sufficiently  complete  to  en- 
able us  to  decide  that  the  part  which  he  played  in  the  fili- 
bustering conspiracy  was  not  that  of  a  Burr,  but  of  a 
Walker,  which  indeed  might  be  inferred  from  the  fact 
that  he  was  not  intellectually  capable  of  making  himself 
head  of  a  cabal  which  included  some  of  the  cleverest  of 
the  keen-sighted  (though  not  far-sighted)  statemen  of  the 
south.  It  is  no  special  reflection  on  the  Colonel's  brains 
to  say  that  they  were  not  equal  to  those  of  Soule  and 
Jefferson  Davis.  Moreover  a  soldier  is  usually  a  poor  in- 
triguer, because  his  profession  rarely  leads  him  to  appeal 
to  any  other  influence  than  open  authority :  he  is  not 
obUged  to  learn  the  politician's  essential  arts  of  convincmg, 
wheedling  and  circumventing  ;  he  simply  says  to  his  man 
Go,  and  he  goeth.  Carter,  then,  was  to  be  the  commander 
of  the  regiment,  or  brigade,  or  division,  or  whatever  might 
be  the  proposed  force  of  armed  filibusters.  There  appears 
to  have  been  no  doubt  in  the  minds  of  the  ringleaders  as 
to  his  fidelity.  He  was  a  Virginian  born,  and  of  a  family 
which  sat  in  the  upj^er  seats  of  the  southern  oligarchy. 
Furthermore,  he  had  married  a  wife  and  certain  appertam- 
ing  human  property  in  Louisiana ;  and  although  he  had 
buried  the  first,  and  dissolved  the  second  (as  Cleopatra  did 
pearls)  in  the  wine  cuj),  it  was  reasonable  to  suppose  that 
they  had  exercised  an  establishing  influence  on  his  charac- 
ter ;  for  what  Yankee  even  was  ever  known  to  remain  an 
abolitionist  after  having  once  tasted  the  pleasure  of  living 
by  the  labor  of  others  ?  Moreover  he  had  become  agent 
and  honorary  stockholder  of  a  company  whicli  had  a  new 
patent  rifle  to  dispose  of ;  and  it  was  an  item  of  the  filibus- 


120         Miss     T l  a  v  e  x  e  l  '  s     C  o  x  y  j:  r  s  i  o  x 

tering  bargain  that  the  expeditionary  force  should  be 
armed  with  ordnance  furnished  by  this  Pennsylvania  man- 
ufactory. Finally,  having  melted  down  his  own  and  bis 
wife's  patrimony  in  the  crucible  of  pleasure,  and  been  driv- 
en by  debts  to  resign  his  lieutenancy  for  something  which 
promised,  but  did  not  provide,  a  better  income,  he  was 
known  to  be  dreadfully  in  need  of  money. 

It  is  impossible  to  make  the  whole  conspiracy  a  matter 
of  i^lain  and  positive  history.  Colburne  thought  he  had 
learned  that  at  least  two  or  three  thousand  men  were 
sworn  in  as  officers  and  soldiers,  and  that  the  Governors 
of  several  Southern  States  had  pledged  themselves  to  sup- 
port it,  even  at  the  risk  of  being  obliged  to  bully  the 
venerable  public  functionary  who  then  occuj^ied  the 
White  House.  It  is  certain  that  councils  of  state  and  war 
were  held  m  the  !Mills  House  at  Charleston  and  in  the  St. 
Charles  Hotel  at  New  Orleans.  It  is  even  asserted  that  a 
distmguished  southern  divme  was  present  at  some  of  these 
sessions,  and  gave  his  blessmg  to  the  plan  as  one  of  the 
most  hopeful  missionary  enterprises  of  the  day ;  and  the 
story,  ironical  as  it  may  seem  to  misguided  Yankees,  be- 
comes seriously  credible  when  we  remember  that  certain 
devout  southerners  advocated  the  slave-trade  itself  as  a 
means  of  christianizing  benighted  Africans.  Where  the 
expedition  was  to  go  and  when  it  was  to  sail  are  still 
points  of  uncertainty.  Carter  himself  never  told,  and  per- 
haps was  not  let  into  the  secret.  His  j^art  was  to  draw 
over  as  many  of  his  old  comi*ades  as  possible  ;  to  organize 
the  enlisted  men  into  companies  and  regiments,  and  to 
command  the  force  when  it  should  once  be  landed.  Con- 
cerning the  causes  of  the  failure  of  the  enterprise  we  knoAv 
nothing  more  than  what  he  stated  to  Colburne.  The  arch 
conspii'ators  foresaw  the  election  of  Lincoln,  and  resolved 
to  save  the  material  and  enthusiasm  of  the  South  for  war 
at  home.  It  is  pretty  certain,  however,  that  they  sought 
to  brmg  Carter's  courage  and  professional  ability  into  the 
new  channel  which  they  had  resolved  to  open   for  such 


From    Secessiox    to    Loyalty.  121 

qualities  ;  and  we  can  only  wonder  that  a  man  of  such  des- 
perate fortunes,  apparently  such  a  mere  Dugald  Dalgetty, 
was  not  seduced  mto  treason  by  their  no  doubt  earnest 
persuasions  and  flattermg  jH'omises.  He  may  have  re- 
sisted their  blandishments  merely  because  he  knew  thnt 
the  other -side  was  the  strongest  and  richest;  but  if  we 
are  charitable  we  will  concede  that  it  argued  in  him  some 
still  uneradicated  roots  of  military  honor  and  patriotism. 
At  all  events,  here  he  was,  confident,  cheerful  and  jealous, 
going  forth  to  fight  for  his  old  flag  and  his  whole  coun- 
try. This  vague  and  unsatisfactory  story  of  the  conspii-a- 
cy  would  not  have  been  worth  relating  did  it  not  shed 
some  cloudy  light  on  the  man's  dubious  history  and  con- 
tradictory character. 

We  may  take  it  for  granted  that  Captain  Colburne  de- 
voted much  of  his  time  during  this  voyage  to  meditations* 
on  Miss  Ravenel.  But  lovers'  reveries  not  being  popular 
reading  in  these  days,  I  shall  omit  all  the  interesting  mat- 
ter thus  oflered,  notwithstanding  that  the  young  man  has 
my  earnest  sympathies  and  good  wishes. 

One  summer-like  March  morning  the  steam  transport, 
black  with  men,  lay  bowing  to  the  snow-like  sand-drifts 
of  Ship  Island ;  and  by  sunset  the  regiment  was  ashore, 
the  camp  marked  out,  tents  j^itched,  rations  cooking,  and 
line  formed  for  dress-parade;  an  instance  of  military 
promptness  which  elicited  the  praises  of  Generals  Pheli^s 
and  Butler. 

It  is  well  known  that  the  expedition  against  Xew  Or- 
leans started  from  Ship  Island  as  its  base.  Over  the  or- 
ganization of  the  enterprise,  the  battalion  and  brigade 
driUs  on  the  dazzling  sands,  the  gun-boat  fights  m  the 
offing  with  rebel  cruisers  from  Mobile,  the  arrival  of  Far- 
ragut's  frigates  and  Porter's  bomb-schooners,  and  the 
grand  review  of  the  expeditionary  force,  I  must  hurrv 
without  a  word  of  description,  although  I  might  make  np 
a  volume  on  these  subjects  from  the  newspapers  of  the 
day,  and  from  three  or  four  long  and  enthusiastic  letters 
F 


122         Miss    Rave  x  el's     Conveesion 

which  Colburne  wrote  to  Ravenel.  But  these  matters  do 
not  i^roperly  come  -\vithin  the  scope  of  this  narrative, 
which  is  biographical  and  not  historical.  Parenthetically 
it  may  he  well  to  remark  that  neither  Carter  nor  Col- 
bm-ne  ever  referred  to  Miss  Ravenel  m  their  few  and  brief 
interviews.  The  latter  was  not  disposed  to  talk  of  her 
to  that  listener ;  and  the  fonner  was  too  much  occupied 
with  his  duties  to  give  much  thought  to  an  absent  Dul- 
cinea.  The  Colonel  was  no  longer  in  that  youthfully  ten- 
der stage  when  absence  mcreases  aftection.  To  make  him 
love  it  was  necessary  to  have  a  woman  in  pretty  close 
personal  propinquity. 

In  a  month  or  two  from  the  arrival  of  the  Tenth  Barata- 
ria  at  Ship  Island  it  was  agam  on  board  a  transport,  this 
time  bound  for  Xew  Orleans  via  Fort  Jackson, 
*     "  This  part  of  Louisiana  looks  as  the  world  must  have 
looked  in  the  marsupial  period,"  says  Colburne  in  a  letter 
to  the  Doctor   written    from   the   Head    of  the    Passes. 
"  There  are  tAvo  narrow  but  seemmgly  endless  antennte  of 
land;    between    them  rolls  a  river  and  outside  of  them 
spreads  an  ocean.     Dry  land  there  is  none,  for  the  Mis- 
sissippi being  imusually  high  the  soil  is  submerged,  and 
the  trees  and  shrubs  of  these  long  ribbons  of  underwood 
which  enclose  us  have  their  boles  hi  the  water.      I  do  not 
understand  why  the  ichthyosauri  should  have  died  out  in 
Louisiana,     It  certamly  is  not  fitted,  so  far  as  I  can  see, 
for  human  habitation.      May  it  not  have  been  the  chaos 
{vide  Milton)    through   which  Satan  floundered  ?    Miss 
Ravenel  will,  I  trust,  forgive  me  for  this  h^-pothesis  when 
she  learns  that  it  is  suggested  by  your  theory  that  Lucifer 
was  and  is  and  ever  will  be  peculiarly  at  home  in  this  part 
of  the  world," 

In  a  subsequent  passage  he  gives  a  long  account  of  the 
famous  bombardment  of  the  forts,  which  I  feel  obliged  to 
suppress  as  not  strictly  biographical,  he  not  being  under 
fire  but  only  an  eye-witness  and  ear- witness  of  the  cannon- 
ade.   One  paragraph  alone  I  deem  it  worth  while  to  copy, 


From     Secession     to     Loyalty.        123 

being  a  curious  analysis  of  the  feelings  of  the  individual  in 
the  presence  of  sublime  but  monotonous  circumstance. 

"  Here  we  are,  m  view  of  what  I  am  told  is  the  greatest 
bombardment  known  in  maiine,  or,  as  I  should  call  it,  am- 
phibious warfare.  You  take  it  for  granted,  I  suppose,  that 
we  are  in  a  state  of  constant  and  noble  excitement ;  but 
the  extraordinary  truth  is  that  we  are  in  a  condition  of 
wearisome  ennui  and  deplorable  cTesaeimrement.  We  are 
too  ignorant  of  the  great  scientific  problems  of  war  to 
take  an  mtelligent  mterest  in  the  fearful  equation  of  fleets 
=forts.  We  got  tired  a  week  ago  of  the  mere  auricular 
pleasure  of  the  incessant  bombing.  We  got  tired  a  day  or 
two  afterward  of  climbing  to  the  crosstrees  to  look  at  the 
fading  globes  of  smoke  left  aloft  in  the  air  by  the  bursting 
shells.  We  are  totally  tired  of  the  monotonous  flow  of 
the  muddy  river,  and  the  interminable  parallel  curves  of  its 
natural  levees  and  the  glassy  stretches  of  ocean  which 
seem  to  slope  upwards  toward  the  eastern  and  western 
horizon.  We  pass  our  time  m  playing  cards,  smoking, 
grumbling  at  our  wi-etched  fare,  exchangmg  dull  gossip 
and  wishing  that  we  might  be  allowed  to  do  something. 
Happy  is  the  man  who  chances  once  a  day  to  find  a  clear 
space  of  a  dozen  feet  on  the  crowded  deck  where  he  can 
take  a  constitutional.  Waiting  for  a  belated  tram,  alone, 
in  a  country  railroad  station,  is  not  half  so  wearisome." 

But  in  a  subsequent  page  of  the  same  letter  he  makes 
record  of  startling  events  and  vivid  emotions. 

"  The  fleet  has  forced  the  passage  of  the  forts.  We 
have  had  a  day  and  a  night  of  almost  crazy  excitement. 
A  battle,  a  victory,  a  glorious  feat  of  arms  has  been 
achieved  within  our  hearing,  though  beyond  our  sight  .and 
range  of  action.  A  submerged  ii'on-clad,  one  of  the 
wrecks  of  the  enemy's  fleet,  drifted  against  our  cable, 
shook  us  over  the  edge  of  eternity,  and  then  floated  by 
harmlessly.  Blazing  fire-ships  have  passed  us,  lighting  up 
the  midnight  river  until  its  ripples  seemed  of  flame." 

In  another  part  of  the  letter  he  says,  "  The  forts  have 


124         Miss     Rave  x  el's     Coxveksiox 

surrendered,  and  we  are  steaming  up  the  Mississippi  in 
the  track  of  that  amazing  Farragut.  As  I  look  around  me 
Tvith  what  knowledge  of  science  there  is  in  my  eyes,  I  feel 
as  if  I  had  lived  a  few  millions  of  years  since  yesterday ; 
for  within  twenty-four  hours  we  have  sailed  out  of  the 
marsupial  period  into  the  comparatively  modern  era  of 
fluvial  deposits  and  luxuriant  vegetation.  Give  my  com- 
pliments to  Miss  Ravenel,  and  tell  her  that  I  modify  my 
criticisms  on  the  scenery  of  Louisiana.  On  either  side  the 
land  is  a  livmg  emerald.  The  plantation  houses  are  em- 
bowered in  orange  groves — in  a  glossy  mass  of  brilliant, 
fragrant  verdure.  I  do  not  know  the  names  of  a  quarter 
of  the  plants  and  trees  which  I  see ;  but  I  pass  the  live- 
long day  in  admiring  and  almost  adoring  their  tropical 
beauty.  We  are  no  welcome  tourists,  at  least  not  to  the 
white  inhabitants  ;  very  few  of  them  show  themselves,  and 
they  do  not  answer  our  cheering,  nor  hardly  look  at  us  ; 
they  walk  or  ride  grimly  by,  with  faces  set  straight  for- 
ward, as  if  they  could  thereby  ignore  our  existence.  But 
to  the  negroes  we  evidently  appear  as  friends  and  redeem- 
ers. Such  joyous  gathermgs  of  dark  faces,  such  deei> 
chested  shouts  of  welcome  and  deliverance,  such  a  waving 
of  green  boughs  and  white  vestments,  and  even  of  picka- 
ninnies— such  a  bending  of  knees  and  visible  praising  of 
God  for  his  long-expected  and  at  last  realized  mercy,  sa- 
lutes our  eyes  from  morn  till  night,  as  makes  me  grateful 
to  Heaven  for  this  hour  of  holy  triumph.  How  glorious 
will  be  that  time,  now  near  at  hand,  when  our  re-united 
country  will  be  free  of  the  shame  and  curse  of  slavery !" 

Miss  Ravenel  spit  in  her  angry  pussy-cat  fashion  when 
her  father  read  to  her  this  passage  of  the  letter. 

"  TTe  are  m  Xew  Orleans,"  proceeds  Colburne  towards 
the  close  of  this  prodigious  epistle.  "  Our  regiment  was 
the  first  to  reach  the  city  and  to  witness  the  bareness  of 
the  once-crowded  wharves,  the  desertion  of  the  streets  and 
the  sullen  spite  of  the  few  remaining  inhabitants.  I  sus- 
pect that  your  aristocratic  acquaintances  have  all  fled  at 


Fkom    Secession    to    Loyalty.         125 

the  approach  of  the  Vandal  Yankees,  for  I  see  only  ne- 
groes, poor  foreigners,  and  rowdies,  more  savage-looking 
than  the  tribes  of  the  Bowery.  The  spirit  of  impotent  but 
impertinent  hate  in  this  population  is  astonishing.  The 
ragged  news-boys  will  not  sell  us  a  paper — the  beggarly 
restaurants  will  not  furnish  us  a  dmner.  ^VTierever  I  walk 
I  am  saluted  by  mutterings  of  '  Damned  Yankee  !' — '  Cut 
his  heart  out !'  &c.  &c.  I  once  more  profess  allegiance  to 
your  theory  that  this  is  where  Satan's  seat  is.  But  the 
evil  spirits  who  inhabit  this  city  of  desolation  only  grimace 
and  mumble,  without  attempting  any  manner  of  injury. 
If  Miss  Ravenel  fears  that  there  will  be  a  popular  insur- 
rection and  a  consequent  burning  of  the  city,  assure  her 
from  me  that  she  may  dismiss  all  such  terrors." 

And  here,  from  mere  lack  of  space  rather  than  of  inter- 
esting matter,  I  must  close  my  extracts  from  this  incompa- 
rably elongated  letter.  I  question,  by  the  way,  whether 
Colburne  would  have  covered  so  much  paper  had  he  not 
been  reasonably  justified  in  imagining  a  pretty  family  pic- 
ture of  the  Doctor  reading  and  Miss  Ravenel  listening. 


CHAPTER  X. 

THE  EAVEXELS  FIXD  CAPTAIN  COLBUEXE  IX  GOOD  QUAETEES. 

The  spring  and  summer  of  1862  was  a  time  of  such 
peace  and  pleasantness  to  the  Tenth  Barataria  as  if  there 
had  been  no  war.  With  the  Major  General  commanding 
Carter  was  a  favorite,  as  being  a  man  who  had  seen  ser- 
vice, a  most  efficient  officer,  an  old  regular  and  a  West 
Pointer.  The  Tenth  was  a  pet,  as  being  clean,  admirably 
accoutred,  well-disciplined  and  thoroughly  instructed  in 
those  formal  niceties  and    watchful   severities    of  guard 


126         I\Iiss     Ravenel's     Cox  version 

duty  wliicli  are  harder  to  teach  to  new  soldiers  than  the 
minutia3  of  the  manual,  or  the  perplexities  of  field  evo- 
lutions, or  the  grim  earnestness  of  fightmg.  The  Colonel 
was  appointed  Major  of  Xew  Orleans,  with  a  suspicion  of 
something  handsome  in  addition  to  his  pay  ;  the  regiment 
was  put  on  provost  duty  in  the  city,  instead  of  being  sent 
into  the  malarious  mud  of  Camj)  Parapet  or  the  feverish 
trenches  of  Vicksburgh.  Colburne's  letters  of  those  days 
are  full  of  braggadocio  about  the  splendid  condition  of 
the  Tenth  and  the  peculiar  favor  with  which  it  was 
viewed  by  the  commanding  general.  Doctor  Ravenel,  in 
his  admiration  for  the  young  captain,  unwisely  published 
some  of  these  complacent  e^^istles,  thereby  elieitmg  retorts 
and  taunts  from  the  literary  champions  of  rival  regiments, 
the  esjjrit  du  corps  having  already  grown  into  a  strong  and 
touchy  sentiment  among  the  volunteer  organizations. 

In  this  new  Capua,  the  onl}^  lap  of  luxury  that  our 
armies  found  durmg  the  war,  Carter,  a  curious  compound 
of  hardihood  and  sybaritism,  forgot  that  he  wanted  to  be 
Hannibal,  and  that  he  had  not  yet  fought  his  Cannae. 
He  gave  himself  up  to  lazy  pleasures,  and  even  allowed  his 
officers  to  run  to  the  same,  in  which  they  were  not  much 
discountenanced  by  the  commandmg  general,  whose  grim, 
practical  humor  was  perhaps  gratified  by  the  spectacle  of 
freeborn  mudsills  dwelling  m  the  palaces  and  emptying 
the  wine-cellars  of  a  rebellious  aristocracy.  If,  indeed,  an 
undesirable  cub  over-stepped  some  vague  boundary,  he 
found  himself  court-martialed  and  dismissed  the  service. 
But  the  mass  of  the  regimental  officers,  being  jealous  in 
their  light  duties  and  not  prominently  obnoxious  in 
character,  were  permitted  to  live  in  such  circumstances  of 
comfort  as  they  chose  to  gather  about  them  from  the  pro- 
perty of  self-exiled  secessionists.  Thus  the  regiment  went 
through  the  season  :  no  battles,  no  marches,  no  privations, 
no  exposm-es,  no  anxieties :  not  even  any  weakening  loss 
from  the  perilous  climate.  That  terrible  guardian  angel 
of  the  land,  Yellow  Jack,  would  not  come  to  realize  the 


From     Secession     to     Loyalty. 


127 


fond  predictions  of  the  inhabitants  and  abolish  the  alien 
garrison  as  a  similar  seraph  destroyed  the  host  of  Senna- 
cherib. .  .  r^      ^   '      n   ^ 

"Don't  you  find  it  hot  ?"  said  a  citizen  to  Captam  Col- 
burne      "  You'll  find  it  too  much  for  you  yet." 

"  Pshaw !"  answered  the  defiant  youth.  "  I've  seen  it  hot- 
ter than  this  in  Barataria  with  two  feet  of  snow  on  the 

oTound."  ^         ^ 

Durmo-  the  sprmg  Colburn  ^I'ote  several  long  letters  to 
the  Doctor,  with  his  mind,  you  may  believe,  fixed  more 
on  Miss  Ravenel  than  on  his  nommal  correspondent.     It 
was  a  case  of  moral  strabismus,  which  like  many  a  phy- 
sical squint,  was  not  without  its  beauty,  and  was  even 
quite  charmmg  to  the  o-aze  of  sentimental  sympathy.     It 
was  a  sly  carom  on  the  father,  with  the  mtention  of  pocket- 
ino-  the  daughter,  but  done  with  a  hand  rendered  so  tim- 
orous by  anxiety  that  the  blows  seemed  to  be  struck  at 
random      The    Captam    enjoyed  this  correspondence ;  at 
times  he  felt  all  by  himself  as  if  he  were  talking  with  the 
youno-  lady  ;  his  hazel  eyes  sparkled  and  his  clear  cheeks 
flushed  with  the  excitement  of  the  imagmary  mterview; 
he  dropped  his  pen  and  pushed  up  his  wavy  brown  hair 
into  careless  tangles,  as  was  his  wont  m  gleesome  conver- 
sation.    But  this  happiness  was  not  without  its  counter- 
weio-ht  of  trouble,  so  that  there  might  be  no  failure  of 
equflibrium  m  the  moral  balance  of  the  universe.      After 
Colburne  had  received  two  responses  to  his  epistles,  there 
ensued  a  silence  which  caused  hun  many  lugubrious  mis- 
givmo-<.      Were  the  Eavenels   sick  or  dead?    Had   they 
o-one  to  Canada  or  Europe  to  escape  the  jealous  and  exact- 
hio-  loyalty  of  New  England?      Were   they  ofiended  at 
somethmo;  which  he  had  written?   Was  Lillie  to  be  mar- 
riedto  young  Whitewood,  or  some  other  conveniently  pro- 
pinquitous  admirer  ?  . 

The  truth  is  that  the  Doctor  had  obtamed  a  permit  trom 
the  government  to  go  to  Kew  Orleans,  and  that  the  letter 
in  which  he  informed  Colburne  of  his  plan  had  miscarried, 


128  ]\I  I  S  S      li  AV  E  X  K  L  '  S      C  O  X  T  12  R  S  I  O  X 

as  frequently  happened  to  letters  in  those  days  of  wide- 
spread confusion.  On  a  certain  scorching  day  in  June  he 
knocked  at  the  door  of  the  neat  little  brick  house  whicli 
had  been  assigned  to  the  Captain  as  his  quarters.  It  was 
opened  by  an  officer  in  the  uniform  of  a  second-lieutenant, 
a  man  of  remarkable  presence,  very  dark  and  saturnine  in 
visage,  tall  and  broad-shouldered  and  huge  chested,  with 
the  limbs  of  a  Heenan  and  the  ringmg  bass  voice  of  a 
Susini.  He  informed  the  visitor  that  Captam  Colburne 
was  out,  but  insisted  with  an  amicable  boisterousness  up- 
on his  entermg.  He  had  an  elaborate  and  ostentatious 
courtesy  of  manner  which  puzzled  the  Doctor,  who  could 
not  decide  whether  he  was  a  born  and  bred  gentleman  or 
a  professional  gambler. 

"  Xearly  dinner  time,  sir,'*  he  said  in  a  rolling  deep 
tone  like  mellow  thunder.  "  The  Captain  will  be  in  soon 
for  that  good  and  sufficient  reason.  You  will  dine  with 
us,  I  hope.  Give  you  some  capital  wine,  sir,  out  of  Mon- 
sieur Soule's  own  cave.  Take  this  oaken  arm-chair,  sir, 
and  allow  me  to  relieve  you  of  your  chapcau.  What 
name,  may  I  ask  ? — Ah  !  Doctor  Ravenel. — My  God,  sir  ! 
the  Captain  has  a  letter  for  you.  I  saw  it  on  his  table  a 
moment  ago." 

He  commenced  rummaging  among  papers  and  Avriting 
materials  with  an  exhilaration  of  haste  which  caused  Rav- 
enel  to  suspect  that  he  tad  taken  a  bottle  or  so  of  the 
Soule  sherry. 

"  Here  it  is,"  he  exclaimed  with  a  smile  of  triumph  and 
friendliness.  "  You  had  better  take  it  while  you  see  it. 
If  you  are  a  lawyer,  sir,  you  are  aware  that  possession  is 
nine  tenths  of  a  title.  I  beg  pardon  ;  of  course  you  are 
not  a  lawver.  Or  have  I  the  honor  to  address  an  L.  L. 
D.  ?" 

"  Merely  an  M.  D.,"  observed  Ravenel,  and  took  his 
letter. 

"  A  magnificent  profession  !"  rejomed  the  sonorous  lieu- 
tenant.    "  Most  ancient  and  honorable  profession.     The 


Feom     Secessiox     to     Loyalty.         129 

profession  of  Esculapius  and  Hippocrates.  The  physician 
is  older  than  the  lawyer,  and  more  useful  to  humanity." 

Ravenel  looked  at  his  letter  and  observed  that  it  was 
not  post-marked  nor  sealed  ;  he  opened  it,  and  found  that 
it  was  from  Colburne  to  himself — intended  to  go,  no 
doubt,  by  the  next  steamer. 

"  I  hope  it  gives  you  good  news  from  home,  sir,"  ob- 
served the  lieutenant  in  the  most  amicable  manner. 

The  Doctor  bowed  and  smiled  assent  as  he  put  the  let- 
ter in  his  i^ocket,  not  thinking  it  worth  while  to  explain 
matters  to  a  gentleman  who  was  so  evidently  muddled  by 
the  Soule  vintages.  As  his  interlocutor  rattled  on  he 
looked  about  the  room  and  admired  the  costly  furniture 
and  tasteful  ornaments.  There  were  two  choice  paintings 
on  the  paneled  walls,  and  a  dozen  or  so  of  choice  engrav- 
ings. The  damask  curtains  edged  with  lace  were  superb, 
and  so  were  the  damask  coverings  of  the  elaborately 
carved  oaken  chairs  and  lounges.  The  marble  mantels 
and  table,  and  the  extravagant  tortoise-shell  tiroir^  were 
loaded  with  Italian  cameos,  Parisian  bronzes,  Bohemian 
glass-ware,  Swiss  wood-sculpture,  and  other  varieties  of 
European  gimcracks.  Agamst  the  wall  in  one  corner 
leaned  four  huge  albums  of  photograjjhs  and  engravings. 
The  Doctor  thought  that  he  had  never  before  seen  a  house 
in  America  decorated  with  such  exquisite  taste  and  lavish 
expenditure.  He  had  not  been  in  it  before,  and  did  not 
know  who  was  its  proprietor. 

"  Elegant  little  box,  sir,"  observed  the  lieutenant.  "  It 
belongs  to  a  gentleman  who  is  now  a  captain  in  the  rebel 
service.  He  built  and  furnished  it  for  his  affinity,  an  act- 
ress whom  he  brought  over  from  Paris,  which  diso-usted 
his  wife,  I  understand.  Some  women  are  devilish  exact- 
ing, sir." 

Here  the  humor  of  a  satyr  gleamed  in  his  black  eyes 
and  grinned  under  his  black  mustache. 

"  You  will  see  her  portrait  (the  affinity's — not  the  wife's) 
all  over  the  house,  as  she  appeared  in  her  various  charac- 

F2 


180         Miss     Ravexel's     Conversion 

ters.     And  here  she  is  in  her  morning-gown,  in  her  own 
natural  part  of  a  plain,  straight-forward  affinity." 

He  pointed  witli*  another  satyr-like  grin  to  a  large  pho- 
tograph representing  the  bust  and  face  of  a  woman  appar- 
ently twenty-eight  or  thirty  years  of  age,  who  could  not 
have  been  handsome,  but,  judging  by  the  air  of  life  and 
cleverness,  might  have  been  quite  charming. 

"  Intelligent  old  girl,  I  should  say,  sir,"  continued  the 
cicerone,  regardless  of  the  Doctor's  look  of  disgust ;  "  but 
not  precisely  to  my  taste.  I  like  them  more  youthful  and 
innocent,  with  something  of  the  down  of  girlhood's  purity 
about  them.     What  is  your  opinion,  sir  ?" 

Thus  bullied,  the  Doctor  admitted  that  he  entertained 
much  the  same  preferences,  at  the  same  time  wishing 
heartily  in  his  soul  that  Colburne  would  arrive. 

"  We  have  devilish  fine  times  here,  sir,"  pursued  the 
other  in  his  remorseless  garrulity.  "  AYe  finished  the  rebel 
captain's  wine-cellar  long  ago,  and  are  now  living  on  old 
Soule's.  Emptied  forty-six  bottles  of  madeira  and  cham- 
pagne yesterday.  Select  party  of  loyal  friends,  sir,  from 
our  own  regiment,  the  bullissimo  Tenth  Barataria." 

"  Ah !  you  belong  to  the  Tenth  ?"  inquired  the  Doctor 
with  interest. 

"  Yes,  sir.  Proud  to  own  it,  sir.  The  best  regiment  in 
either  service.  Xot  that  I  enlisted  m  Barataria.  I  had 
the  honor  of  bemg  the  first  man  to  jom  it  here.  I  was  in 
the  rebel  service,  sir,  an  unwilling  victim,  dragged  as  an 
iimocent  sheep  to  the  slaughter,  and  took  a  part  much 
a<T^ainst  my  mclinations  in  the  defence  of  Fort  Jackson.  It 
seemed  to  me,  sir,  that  the  day  of  judgment  had  come, 
and  the  angel  was  blowing  particular  hell  out  of  his 
trumpet.  Those  shells  of  Porter's  killed  men  and  buried 
them  at  one  rap.  My  eyes  stuck  out  so  to  watch  for 
them  that  they  havn't  got  back  into  their  proper  place  yet. 
After  the  fleet  forced  the  passage  I  was  the  first  man  to 
raise  the  standard  of  revolt,  and  bid  defiance  to  my  offi- 
cers.    1  then  made  the  best   time  on  record  to  New  Or- 


From    Secession    to     Loyalty.         131 

leans,  and  enlisted  under  the  dear  old  flag  of  my  country 
in  Captain  Colbnrpe's  company.  I  took  a  fancy  to  the 
captain  at  first  sight.  I  saw  that  he  was  a  born  gentleman 
and  a  scholar,  sir.  I  was  first  made  sergeant  for  good 
conduct,  obedience  to  orders,  and  knowledge  of  my  busi- 
ness ;  and  when  the  second-lieutenant  of  the  company  died 
of  bilious  fever  I  was  promoted  to  the  vacancy.  Our  colo- 
nel, sii',  prefers  gentlemen  for  officers.  I  am  of  an  old 
Knickerbocker  family,  one  of  the  aborigmal  Peter  Stuyve- 
sant  Knickerbockers,  as  you  may  mfer  from  my  name — 
Van  Zandt,  at  your  service,  sir — Cornelius  Van  Zandt, 
second-lieutenant,  Co.  I,  Tenth  Regiment  Barataria  Vol- 
unteers. I  am  delighted  to  make  your  acquaintance,  and 
hoij^e  to  see  much  of  you." 

I  hope  not,  thought  the  Doctor  with  a  shudder  ;  but  he 
bowed,  smiled,  and  continued  to  wait  for  Colburne. 

"  Hope  to  have  the  pleasure  of  receivmg  you  here  often," 
Van  Zandt  went  on.  "Always  give  you  a  decent  bottle 
of  wine.  When  the  Soule  cave  gives  out,  there  are  others 
to  be  had  for  the  asking.  By  the  way — I  beg  a  thousand 
pardons — allow  me  to  offer  you  a  bumper  of  madeira.  You 
refuse  !  Then,  sir,  permit  me  the  pleasure  of  drinking 
your  health." 

He  drank  it  in  a  silver  goblet,  holding  as  much  as  a 
tumbler,  to  the  astonishment  if  not  to  the  horror  of  the 
temperate  Doctor. 

"  I  was  remarkmg,  I  believe,  sir,"  he  resumed,  "  that  I 
am  a  descendant  of  the  venerable  Knickerbockers.  If  you 
doubt  it,  I  beg  leave  to  refer  you  to  Colonel  Carter,  who 
knew  my  family  in  ISTew  York.  I  am  sensitive  on  the  sub- 
ject in  all  its  bearings.  I  have  a  sort  offend,  an  ancestral 
vendetta,  with  Washington  Irving  on  accotlnt  of  his 
Knickerbocker's  History  of  iSTew  York.  It  casts  an  unde- 
served ridicule  on  the  respectable  race  from  which  I  am 
proud  to  trace  my  lineage.  My  old  mother,  sir — God 
bless  her  ! — never  could  be  induced  to  receive  Washington 
Irving  at  her  house.     By  the  way,  I  was  speaking  of  Colo- 


132  Miss     Ravenel's     Coxveksiox 

nel  Carter,  I  thiiik,  sir.  He's  a  judge,  of  old  blue  blood, 
sir;  comes  of  an  ancient,  true-blue  cavalier  strain  himself; 
what  you  might  call  old  Virginia  particular.  A  splendid 
man,  sir,  a  born  gentleman,  an  officer  to  the  back-bone, 
the  best  colonel  m  the  service,  and  soon  will  be  the  best 
general.  When  he  comes  to  show  himself  in  field  service, 
these  militia-generals  will  have  to  take  the  back  seats.  I 
assume  Avhatever  responsibility  there  may  be  in  predicting 
it,  and  I  request  you  to  mark  my  words.  I  am  willmg  to 
back  them  with  a  fifty  or  so ;  though  don't  imderstand 
me  as  bemg  so  impertment  as  to  offer  you  a  bet — I  am 
l^erfectly  well  aware  of  the  respect  due  to  your  clerical 
profession,  sir — I  was  only  supposing  that  I  might  fiill  in- 
to conversation  on  the  subject  with  a  betting  character.  I 
feel  bound  to  tell  you  how  much  I  admire  Captain  Col- 
burne,  of  whom  I  think  I  was  speaking.  He  saw  that  I 
was  a  gentleman  and  a  man  of  education.  (By  the  way, 
did  I  tell  you  that  I  am  a  graduate  of  Columbia  College  ?) 
He  saw  that  I  was  above  my  place  m  the  ranks,  and  he 
started  me  on  my  career  of  j^romotion.  I  would  go  to  the 
death  for  him,  sir.  He  is  a  man,  sir,  that  you  can  depend 
on.  You  know  just  where  to  find  him.  He  is  a  man  that 
you  can  tie  to." 

The  Doctor  looked  gratified  at  this  statement,  and  lis- 
tened with  visible  interest. 

"  He  would  have  died  in  the  cause  of  total  abstinence, 
but  for  Colonel  Carter,"  contmued  Van  Zandt.  "  The 
Colonel  came  in  when  he  was  at  his  lowest." 

"  Sick !"  exclaimed  the  Doctor.     "  Has  he  been  sick  ?" 

"  Sick,  sir  ?  Yes,  sir !  Wofully  broken  up — slow  bilious 
typhoid  fever — and  wouldn't  drink,  sir — conscientious 
against  it.'  '  You  must  drink,  by !  sir,'  says  the  Colo- 
nel; *  you  must  drink  and  wear  woollen  shirts.'  'But,' 
says  the  Captain,  '  if  I  drink  and  get  well,  my  men  will 
drink  and  go  to  hell.'  By  the  way,  those  Avere  not  his 
exact  words,  sir.  I  am  apt  to  put  a  little  swearing  into  a 
story.     It's  like  lemon  in  a  punch.     Don't  you  think  so. 


Fkom     Sjecessiox     to     Loyalty.  133 

sir? — Where  was  I?  Oh,  I  remember.  'How  can  I 
punish  my  men,'  says  the  Captain,  '  for  doing  what  I  do 
myself?'  '  It's  none  of  their  dam  business  wliat  you  do,' 
says  the  Colonel.  '  If  they  get  drunk  and  neglect  duty 
.thereby,  it's  your  business  to  punish  them.  And  if  you 
neo-lect  duty,  it's  my  business  to  punish  you.  But  don't 
suppose  it  is  any  affair  of  your  men.  The  idea  is  contrary 
to  the  Regulations,  sir.'  Those  are  the  opinions  of  Colonel 
Carter,  sir,  an  officer,  a  gentleman  and  a  philosopher.  'No- 
thmg  but  good  old  Otard  brandy  and  woollen  shirts 
brought  the  Captain  around — woollen  shirts  and  good  old 
Otard  brandy  with  the  Soule  seal  on  it.  He  was  dying  of 
bilious  night-sweats,  sir.  Horrible  climate,  this  Louisiana. 
But  perhaps  you  are  acquamted  with  it.  By  the  way,  I 
was  speaking'  of  Colonel  Carter,  I  believe.  He  knows  how 
to  enjoy  himself  He  keeps  the  finest  house  and  most  hos- 
pitable board  m  this  city.  He  has  the  prettiest  little 
French — houdoir — " 

He  was  about  to  utter  quite  another  word,  but  recol- 
lected himself  in  tune  to  substitute  the  word  boudoir, 
while  a  saturnme  twinkle  in  his  eye  showed  that  he  felt 
the  humor  of  the  misapplication.  Then,  tickled  with  his 
own  wit,  he  followed  up  the  idea  on  a  broad  grm. 

"  I  am  more  envious  of  the  Colonel's  boudoir,  sir,  than 
of  his  commission.  IsTothing  like  a  trim  little  French 
boudoir  for  a  bachelor.  You  are  a  man  of  the  world,  sir, 
and  understand  me." 

And  so  on,  prattling  ad  nauseam,  meanwhile  pouring 
down  the  madeira.  The  Doctor,  who  wanted  to  say,  "  Su% 
your  o-oose  has  come  for  you,"  had  never  before  listened 
to  such  garrulity  nor  witnessed  such  thirst.  When  Col- 
burne  entered.  Van  Zandt  undertook  to  introduce  the 
two,  although  they  met  each  other  with  extended  hands 
and  friendly  inquiries.  The  Captain  was  somewhat  em- 
barrassed, knowing  that  his  surroundings  were  of  a  nature 
to  rouse  suspicion  as  to  the  perfect  vutuousness  of  his  life, 
and  thinking,  perhaps  in  consequence  of  this  knowledge, 


134         Miss     Ravexel's     C  ox  version 

that  the  Doctor  surveyed  hhn  with  an  investigatmg  ex- 
pression. Presently  he  turned  his  eyes  on  Van  Zandt ; 
and,  gently  as  they  had  been  toned  by  nature,  there  was 
now  a  something  m  them  which  visibly  sobered  the  bac-^ 
chanalian;  he  rose  to  his  feet,  saluted  as  if  he  were  still  a 
private  soldier,  and  left  the  room  murmuring  something 
about  hurrying  up  dinner.  The  Doctor  noticed  with  in- 
terest the  authoritative  demeanor  which  had  usurped  the 
place  of  the  old  Xew  Boston  innocence. 

"  And  where  is  Miss  Ravenel  ?"  was  of  course  one  of  the 
first  questions. 

"  She  is  in  the  city,"  was  the  answer. 

"  Is  it  jDOSsible  ?  (With  a  tremendous  beating  of  the 
heart.) 

"  Yes.  You  may  suppose  that  I  could  not  get  her  to 
stay  behmd  when  it  was  a  question  of  re-visitmg  Xew  Or- 
leans.    She  is  as  fierce  a  rebel  as  ever." 

Colbume  laughed,  with  the  merest  shadow  of  hysteria 
in  his  amusement,  and,  patriot  as  he  was,  felt  that  he 
hated  Miss  Ravenel  none  the  worse  for  the  announcement. 
There  is  a  state  of  the  affections  in  which  every  peculiar- 
ity of  the  loved  object,  no  matter  how  offensive  primarily 
or  in  itself,  becomes  an  additional  charm.  People  who 
really  like,  cats  like  them  all  the  better  for  their  cattish- 
ness.  A  mother  who  dotes  on  a  deformed  child  takes  an 
interest  in  all  lame  children  because  they  remind  her  of 
her  own  unfortunate. 

"  Besides,  there  was  no  one  to  leave  her  with  in  Xew 
Boston,"  continued  the  Doctor. 

"  Certainly,"  assented  Colburne  in  a  manifestly  cheerful 
humor. 

"  But  I  am  truly  sorry  to  see  you  so  thin  and  pale,"  the 
Doctor  went  on.  "You  are  suffering  from  our  horrible 
climate.  You  positively  must  be  careful.  Let  me  beg  of 
you  to  avoid  as  much  as  possible  going  out  in  the  night  air." 

Colburne  could  not  help  laughing  outright  at  the  re- 
commendation. 


Feom     Secessiox     to     Loyalty.         135 

"  I  dare  say  it's  good  advice,"  said  he.  "  But  when  I 
am  officer  of  the  day  I  must  make  my  rounds  after  mid- 
night. It  puts  me  in  mind  of  the  counsel  which  one  of 
our  Union  officers  who  was  in  the  siege  of  Vicksburg  re- 
ceived from  his  mother.  She  tokl  him  that  the  air  near 
the  ground  is  always  unhealthy,  and  urged  him  never  to 
sleep  lower  than  the  thu-d  story.  This  to  a  man  who  lay 
on  the  ground  without  even  a  tent  to  cover  him." 

"  War  is  a  dreadful  thing,  even  in  its  lesser  details,"  ob- 
served the  Doctor. 

"  What  can  I  do  for  you  ?"  asked  Colburne  after  a 
moment's  silence. 

"  I  really  don't  know  at  present.  Perhaps  much.  I  have 
copie  here,  of  course,  to  get  together  the  fragments  of  my 
property.  I  may  be  glad  of  some  introductions  to  the 
military  authorities." 

"  I  will  do  my  best  for  you.  Colonel  Carter  can  do 
more  than  I  can.  But,  in  the  first  place,  you  must  dine 
with  me." 

"Thank  you;  no.  I  dine  at  five  with  a  relation  of 
mine." 

"  Dine  twice,  then.  Dine  with  me  first,  for  Kew  Bos- 
ton's sake.     You  positively  must." 

"  Well,  if  you  insist,  I  am  delighted  of  course. — But 
what  a  city !  I  must  break  out  wdth  my  amazement.  Who 
could  have  believed  that  prosperous,  gay,  bragging  'Kew 
Orleans  would  come  to  such  grief  and  poverty  !  I  seem  to 
have  walked  through  Tyre  and  witnessed  the  fiilfiUment 
of  the  predictions  of  the  prophets.  I  have  been  haunted 
all  day  by  Ezekiel.  Business  gone,  money  gone,  popula- 
tion gone.  It  is  the  hand  of  the  Almighty,  bringing  to 
shame  the  counsels  of  wicked  ralers  and  the  predictions  of 
lying  seers.  I  ask  no  better  proof  than  I  have  seen  to-day 
that  there  is  a  Divine  Ruler.  I  hope  that  the  whole  land 
will  not  have  to  pay  as  heavy  a  price  as  New  C^leans  to 
be  quit  of  its  compact  with  the  devil.  We  are  are  all 
guilty  to  some  extent.     The  North  thought  that  it  could 


136  Miss     Ravexel's     Coxveksion 

make  money  out  of  slavery  and  yet  evade  the  natural 
punishments  of  its  naughty  connivance.  It  thought  that  it 
could  use  the  South  as  a  catspaw  to  pull  its  chesnuts  out 
of  the  fires  of  hell.  It  hoped  to  cheat  the  devil  by  doing 
its  dirty  business  over  the  ^^lanter's  shoulders.  But  he  is 
a  sharp  dealer.  He  will  have  his  bond  or  his  pound  of 
flesh.  None  of  us  ought  to  get  off  easily,  and  therefore 
I  conclude  that  we  shall  not." 

Now  who  would  suppose  that  the  Doctor  had  in  his 
mind  all  the  while  a  moral  lecture  to  Colburne  ?  Yet  so 
it  was :  for  this  purpose  had  he  gone  back  to  Tyre  and 
Babylon ;  with  this  object  in  view  had  he  descanted  on 
divine  providence  and  the  father  of  evil.  It  was  his  man- 
ner to  reprove  and  warn  persons  whom  he  liked,  but  liot 
bluntly  nor  du-ectly.  He  touched  them  up  gently,  around 
the  legs  of  other  people,  and  over  the  shoulders  of  events 
which  lost  their  personal  mterest  to  most  human  beings 
thousands  of  years  ago.  Please  to  notice  how  gradually, 
delicately,  yet  surelv  he  descended  upon  Colburne  through 
epochal  spaces  of  time,  and  questions  which  mvolved  the 
guilt  and  punishment  of  continents. 

"  Just  look  at  this  city,"  he  continued,  "  merely  in  its 
character  as  a  temptation  to  this  army.  Here  is  a  chance 
for  plunder  and  low  dissipation  such  as  most  of  your  sim- 
ply educated  and  innocent  country  lads  of  New  England 
never  before  imagined,  I  have  no  doubt  that  there  is 
spoil  enough  here  to  demoralize  a  corps  of  veterans.  I 
don't  believe  that  any  thing  can  be  more  ruinous  to  a 
military  force  than  free  licence  to  enrich  itself  at  the 
expense  of  a  conquered  enemy.  There  is  nobody  so  need- 
ed here  at  this  moment  as  John  the  Baptist.  You  re- 
member that  when  the  soldiers  came  unto  him  he  exhorted 
them,  among  other  things,  to  be  content  with  their  wages. 
I  suppose  the  counsel  was  an  echo  of  the  military  wisdom 
of  his  R«omau  rulers.  The  greatest  blessmg  that  could 
be  vouchsafed  this  army  would  be  to  have  John  the  Bap- 
tist crying  night  and  day  in  this  wilderness  of  temptation, 


From    Secession    to    Loyalty.  137 

Be  content  with  your  -wages  !  I  haye  hardly  been  here 
forty-eight  hours,  and  I  liave  ah-eady  heard  stories  of  cot- 
ton speculations  and  sugar  speculations,  as  they  are  slyly 
called,  yes,  and  of  speculations  in  plate,  pictures,  furniture, 
and  even  private  clothing.  It  is  sure  disgrace  and  proba- 
ble ruin.  Please  to  understand  that  I  am  not  pleading 
the  cause  of  the  traitors  who  have  left  their  goods  ex- 
posed to  these  peculations,  but  the  cause  of  the  army  which 
is  thus  exposed  to  temptation.  I  want  to  see  it  subjected 
to  the  rules  of  honor  and  common  sense.  I  want  it  pro- 
tected from  its  opportunities." 

The  Doctor  had  not  alluded  to  plundered  wine-cellars, 
but  Colburne's  mmd  reverted  to  the  forty-six  emptied  bot- 
tles of  yesterday.  John  the  Baptist  had  not  made  men- 
tion of  this  elegant  little  dwelling,  but  this  convicted  leg- 
ionary glanced  uneasily  over  its  furniture  and  gimcracks. 
He  had  not  hitherto  thought  that  he  was  doing  any  thing 
irregular  or  immoral.  In  his  opmion  he  Avas  punishing  re- 
bellion by  using  the  property  of  rebels  for  the  good  or  the 
pleasure  of  loyal  citizens.  The  subject  had  been  pre- 
sented to  him  in  a  new  and  disagreeable  light,  but  he  was 
too  fak-minded  and  conscientious  not  to  give  it  his  in- 
stant and  serious  consideration.  As  for  the  forty-six  bot- 
tles of  wine,  he  might  have  stated,  had  he  supposed  it  to 
be  worth  while,  that  he  had  drunk  only  a  couple  of  glasses, 
and  that  he  had  quitted  the  orgie  in  disgust  durmg  its  early 
stages. 

''^I  dare  say  this  is  all  wrong,"  he  adniitted.  "  Unques- 
tionably, if  any  thing  is  confiscated,  it  should  be  for  the 
direct  and  sole  benefit  of  the  government.  There  ought 
to  be  a  system  about  it.  If  Ave  occupy  these  houses  Ave 
ought  to  receipt  for  the  furniture  and  be  responsible  for  it. 
I  wonder  that  something  of  the  sort  is  not  done.  But  you 
must  remember  charitably  how  green  most  of  us  are,  from 
the  highest  to  the  lowest,  in  regard  to  the  laAvs  of  Avar,  the 
rights  of  conquerors,  the  discipline  of  armies,   and  every 


138         Miss     Ravexel's     Conversion 

thing  that  pertams  to  a  state  of  hostilities.  It  is  very 
much  as  if  the  Quakers  had  taken  to  fighting." 

"  Oh,  I  don't  say  that  I  am  right,"  answered  the  Doctor. 
"  I  don't  i^retend  to  assert.     I  only  suggest." 

"  I  am  afraid  there  is  occasion  to  ofl:er  apologies  for  my 
Lieutenant,"  continued  Colburne. 

"  A  very  smgular  man.  I  should  say  eccentric,"  ad- 
mitted the  Doctor  charitably. 

"  He  annoys  me  a  good  deal,  and  yet  he  is  a  valuable 
officer.  When  he  is  drunk  he  is  the  drunkest  man  since 
the  discovery  of  alcohol.  He  isn't  drunk  to-day.  You 
have  heard  of  three-bottle  men.  Well,  Van  Zandt  is  some- 
thing like  a  thirty  bottle  man.  I  don't  think  he  has  had 
above  two  quarts  of  sherry  this  morning.  I  let  him  have 
it  to  keep  him  from  swallowing'  camphene  or  corrosive 
sublimate.  But  with  all  liis  drink  he  is  one  of  the  best 
officers  in  the  regiment,  a  good  drill-master,  a  first-rate  dis- 
ciplinarian, and  able  to  do  army  busmess.  He  takes  a 
load  of  writing  off  my  hands.  I  never  saw  such  a  fellow 
for  returns  and  other  official  documents.  He  turns  them 
off  in  a  way  that  reminds  you  of  those  jugglers  who 
pull  dozens  of  yards  of  paper  out  of  their  mouths.  He  was 
once  a  bank  accountant,  and  he  has  seen  five  years  in  the 
regular  army.  That  explains  his  facility  with  the  pen  and 
the  musket.  Then  he  speaks  French  and  Spanish.  I  be- 
lieve he  is  a  reprobate  son  of  a  very  respectable  Xew  York 
lamily." 

This  brief  biography  of  Van  Zandt  furnished  Ravenel 
the  text  for  a  discourse  on  the  dangers  of  intemperance, 
illustrated  by  remmiscences  of  New  Orleans  society,  and 
culminating  in  the  assertion  that  three-quarters  of  the 
southern  political  leaders  whom  he  remembered  had  died 
drunkards.  The  Doctor  was  more  disposed  than  most 
Ansclo-Saxons  towards  monoloo^ue,  and  he  had  a  mixture 
of  enthusiasm  and  humor  which  made  people  in  general 
listen  to  him  patiently.  His  present  oration  was  inter- 
rupted by  a  mulatto  lad  who  announced  dmner. 


FEOii     Secession    to     Loyalty.       139 

The  meal  was  elegantly  cooked  and  served.  Louisiana 
has  inherited  from  its  maternal  France  a  delicate  taste  in 
convivial  aflairs,  and  the  culinary  artist  of  the  occasion 
was  he  who  had  formerly  ministered  to  the  instructed  ap- 
petites of  the  rebel  captam  and  his  Parisian  affinity;  To 
Colburne's  mortification  Van  Zandt  had  paraded  the  rarest 
treasures  of  the  Soule  wme-cellar;  hermitage  that  could 
not  have  been  bought  then  in  New  York  for  two  dollars  a 
bottle,  and  madeira  that  was  worth  three  times  as  much  ; 
not  to  enlarge  upon  the  champagne  for  the  dessert,  and 
the  old  Otard  brandy  for  the  pousse-cafe.  He  seemed  to 
have  got  quite  sober,  as  if  by  some  miracle;  or  as  if  there 
was  a  fresh  Van  Zandt  always  ready  to  come  on  when  one 
got  over  the  bay ;  and  he  now  recommenced  to  get  him- 
self drunk  again  ah  initio.  He  governed  his  tongue,  how- 
ever, and  behaved  with  good  breeding.  Evidently  he 
was  not  only  grateful  to  Colburne,  but  stood  m  profes- 
sional awe  of  him  as  his  superior  officer.  After  dinner, 
still  amazmgly  sober,  although  with  ten  or  twenty  dol- 
lars' worth  of  wine  in  him,  he  sat  down  to  the  j^iano,  and 
thundered  out  some  pretty-well  executed  arias  from  popu- 
lar operas. 

"  Four  o'clock  !"  exclaimed  the  Doctor.  "  I  have  just 
time  to  get  home  and  see  my  daughter  dme.  Captain,  we 
shall  see  you  soon,  I  hope." 

"  Certamly.  What  is  the  earliest  time  that  I  can  call 
without  inconveniencing  you  ?" 

"  Any  time.     This  evening." 

The  Doctor  bade  Yan  Zandt  a  most  amicable  good  aft- 
ernoon, but  did  not  ask  him  to  accompany  Colburne  in 
the  projected  visit. 

No  sooner  was  he  gone  than  the  Captain  turned  upon 
the  Lieutenant. 

"  Mr.  Yan  Zandt,  I  must  beg  you  to  be  extremely  pru- 
dent m  your  language  and  conduct  before  that  gentle- 
man." 

"  By  Jove  !"  roared  Yan  Zandt,  "  it  came  near  being 


140         Miss     Ravexel's     Conveksiov 

the  cursedest  mess.     I  have  liad  to  pour  down  the  juice  of 
the  grape  to  keep  from  fainting." 
"What  is  the  matter?" 

"Why,  Parker   brought  his   cousin  here   this 

morning.  You've  heard  of  the  girl  lie  calls  his  cousin  ? 
She's  in  the  smoking-room  now.  I've  been  so  confoundedly- 
afraid  you  would  show  him  the  smoking-room  !  I've  been 
sweatmg  with  fright  durmg  the  whole  dinner,  and  all 
the  time  looking  as  if  every  thmg  was  lovely  and  the 
goose  hung  high.  She  couldn't  get  out,  you  know  ;  the 
side  entrance  has  never  been  unlocked  yet — no  key,  you 
know." 

"  What  ill  Heaven's  name  did  you  let  her  in  here  for  ?" 
demanded  Colburne  in  a  passion. 

"  Why — Parker,  you  see — I  didn't  like  to  insult  Parker 
by  refusing  him  a  favor.  He  only  wanted  to  leave  her 
while  he  ran  around  to  head-quarters  to  report  something. 
He  swore  by  all  his  gods  that  he  wouldn't  be  gone  an 
hour." 

"  Well,  get  her  out.  See  that  the  coast  is  clear,  and 
then  get  her  out.      Tell  her  she  must  go.     And  hereafter, 

if  any  of  my  brother  officers  want  to  leave  their  

cousins  here,  remember,  sir,  to  put  a  veto  on  it." 

The  perspiration  stood  on  his  brow  at  the  mere  thought 
of  what  might  have  been  the  Doctor's  suspicions  if  he  had 
gone  into  the  smoking-room.  Van  Zaiidt  went  about  his 
delicate  errand  with  a  very  meek  and  sheepish  grace. 
When  he  had  accomplished  it,  Colburne  called  him  into 
the  sitting-room  and  held  the  following  Catonian  dis- 
course. 

"  Mr.  Van  Zandt,  I  want  you  to  take  an  inventory  of 
the  furniture  of  the  house  and  the  contents  of  the  wine- 
cellar,  so  that  when  I  leave  here  I  can  satisfy  myself  that 
not  a  single  article  is  missing.  We  shall  leave  soon.  I 
shall  make  application  to-day  to  have  my  company  quar- 
tered in  the  custom-house,  or  in  tents  in  one  of  tlic 
squares." 


From     Secession     to     Loyalty.       141 

"  Upon  my  honor,  Captain !"  remonstrated  the  dis- 
mayed Van  Zandt,  "  I  j)led|Pyou  my  word  of  honor  that 
nothing  of  this  kind  shall  happen  again." 

He  cast  a  desperate  glare  around  the  luxurious  rooms, 
and  gave  a  mournful  thought  to  the  now  forbidden  para- 
dise of  the  wine-cellar. 

"  And  I  give  you  mme  to  the  same  effect,"  answered.the 
Captain.  "  The  debauch  of  yesterday  answers  my  pur- 
pose as  a  warning  ;  and  I  mean  to  get  out  of  temptation 
for  my  sake  and  yours.  Besides,  this  is  no  way  for  sol- 
diers to  live.  It  is  poor  preparation  for  the  field.  More 
than  half  of  our  officers  are  in  barracks  or  tents.  I  am 
as  able  and  ought  to  be  as  willing  to  bear  it  as  they. 
Make  your  preparations  to  leave  here  at  the  shortest  no- 
tice, and  meantime  remember,  if  you  please,  the  inventory. 
The  company  clerk  can  assist  you." 

Poor  Van  Zandt,  who  was  a  luxurious  brute,  able  to 
endure  any  hardship,  but  equally  able  to  revel  in  any  sy- 
baritism, set  about  his  unwelcome  task  with  a  crest-fallen 
obedience.  I  do  not  wish  to  be  understood,  by  the  way, 
as  insinuating  that  all  or  even  many  of  our  officers  then 
stationed  in  Xew  Orleans  were  given  up  to  plunder  and 
debauchery.  I  only  wish  to  j^i'esent  an  idea  of  tho 
temptations  of  the  place,  and  to  show  how  our  friend  Col- 
burne  could  resist  them,  with  some  aid  from  the  Doctor, 
and  perhaps  more  from  Miss  Ravenel. 

As  the  Doctor  walked  homeward  he  put  his  hand  into 
his  pocket  for  a  handkerchief  to  wipe  his  brow,  and  dis- 
covered a  paper.  It  Avas  Colburne's  letter  to  him,  and  he 
read  it  through  as  he  strolled  onward. 

"How  singular !"  he  said.  "  He  doesn't  eveiLmention 
that  he  has  been  sick.     He  is  a  noble  fellow." 

The  Doctor  was  too  fond  of  the  young  man  to  allow  his 
faith  in  him  to  be  easily  shaken. 


142        Miss    Raven  el's     Coxversiok" 

m 

CHAPTER  XL 

NEW  ORLEANS  LITE  AND  NEW  ORLEANS  LADIES. 

From  these  chapters  all  about  men  I  return  with  pleas- 
ure to  my  young  lady,  rebel  though  she  is.  Before  she 
had  been  twenty-four  hours  in  'New  Orleans  she  discov- 
ered that  it  was  by  no  means  so  delightful  a  place  as  of 
old,  and  she  had  become  quite  indignant  at  the  federals,  to 
whom  she  attributed  all  this  gloom  and  desolation.  AMiy 
not  ?  Adam  and  Eve  were  well  enough  until  the  angel  of 
the  Lord  di'ove  them  out  of  Paradise.  The  felon  has  no 
unusual  troubles,  so  far  as  he  can  see,  except  those  which, 
are  raised  for  him  by  the  malignity  of  judges  and  the 
sheriff.  Miss  Ravenel  was  informed  by  the  few  citizens 
whom  she  met,  that  New  Orleans  was  doing  bravely  un- 
til the  United  States  Government  illegally  blocked  up  the 
river,  and  then  piratically  seized  the  city,  frightening 
away  its  inhabitants  and  paralyzing  its  business  and  nul- 
lifying its  prosperity.  One  old  gentleman  assured  her  that 
Fan-agut  and  Butler  had  behaved  in  the  most  unconstitu- 
tional manner.  At  all  events  somebody  had  spoiled  the 
gayety  of  the  place,  and  she  was  quite  miserable  and  even 
pettish  about  it. 

"  Isn't  it  dreadful  !"  she  said,  burstmg  into  tears  as  she 
threw  herself  into  the  arms  of  her  aunt,  Mrs.  Larue,  who, 
occupying  the  next  house,  had  rushed  in  to  receive  the  re- 
stored exile. 

She  had  few  sympathies  with  this  relation,  and  never 
before  felt  a  desire  to  overflow  into  her  bosom ;  but  any 
face  which  had  been  familiar  to  her  in  the  happy  by-gone 
times  was  a  passport  to  her  sympathies  in  this  hour  of 
affliction. 

"  C'est  effrayant,"  replied  Mrs.  Larue.     "  But  you  are 


From     Secession    to     Loyalty.        143 

out  of  fashion  to  weep.  We  have  given  over  that  femin- 
ine weakness,  ma  cfiere.  That  fountain  is  dry.  The  inhu- 
manities of  these  Yankee  Vandals  have  driven  us  into  a 
despair  too  profound  for  tears.  We  do  not  flatter  Beast 
Butler  with  a  sob." 

Although  she  talked  so  strongly  she  did  not  seem  more 
than  half  in  earnest.  A  half  smile  lurked  around  her 
lips  of  deep  rose-color,  and  her  bright,  almond-shaped 
black  eyes  sparkled  with  interest  rather  than  with  passion. 
By  the  way,  she  was  not  a_ venerable  personage,  and  not 
properly  Lillie's  aimt,  but  only  the  widow  of  the  late  Mrs. 
Ravenel's  brother,  not  more  than  thiity-three  years  of 
age  and  still  decidedly  pretty.  Her  complexion  was  dark, 
pale  and  a  little  too  thick,  but  it  was  relieved  by  the  jet 
black  of  her  regular  eye-brows  and  of  her  masses  of  wavy 
hair.  Her  face  Avas  oval,  her  nose  straight,  her  lips  thin 
but  nicely  modeled,  her  chin  little  and  dimpled ;  her  ex- 
pression was  generally  gay  and  coquettish,  but  amazingly 
variable  and  capable  of  running  through  a  vast  gamut  of 
sentiments,  includmg  affection,  melancholy  and  piety. 
Though  short  she  was  well  built,  with  a  deep,  healthy 
chest,  splendid  arms  and  finely  turned  ankles.  She  did 
not  strike  a  careless  observer  as  handsome,  but  she  bore 
close  examination  with  advantage.  The  Doctor  instmct- 
ively  suspected  her ;  did  not  think  her  a  safe  woman  to 
have  about,  although  he  could  allege  no  overtly  wicked 
act  against  her  ;  and  had  brought  up  Lillie  to  be  shy  of 
her  society.  Nevertheless  it  was  impossible  just  now  to 
keep  her  at  a  distance,  for  he  would  probably  be  much 
away  from  home,  and  it  was  necessary  to  leave  his 
daughter  with  some  one. 

In  politics,  if  not  in  other  things,  Mrs.  Larue  was  as  dou- 
ble-faced as  Janus.  To  undoubted  secessionists  she  talked 
bitterly,  coarsely,  scandalously  against  the  northerners. 
If  advisable  she  could  go  on  about  Picayune  Butler,  Beast 
Butler,  Traitor  Fan-agut,  Vandal  Yankees,  wooden-nut- 
meg heroes,  mudsills,  nasty  tinkers,  nigger-worshippers, 


144         Miss     Rayenel's    Conversion 

amalgamationists,  &c.  &c.  from  nine  o'clock  in  the  morning 
when  she  got  up,  till  midnight  when  she  went  to  bed.  At 
the  same  time  she  could  call  in  a  quiet  way  on  the  mayor 
or  the  commanding  General  to  wheedle  protection  out  of 
them  by  playing  her  fine  eyes  and  smiling  and  flattering. 
Knowin<^  the  bad  social  repute  of  the  Ravenels  as  Union- 
ists, she  would  not  invite  them  into  her  own  roomy  house  ; 
but  she  was  pleased  to  have  them  in  their  own  dwelling 
next  door,  because  they  might  at  a  pinch  serve  her  as 
friends  at  the  Butler  court.  On  the  principle  of  justice  to 
Satan,  I  must  say  that  she  was  no  fair  sample  of  the  proud 
and  stiff-necked  slaveholdmg  aristocracy  of  Louisiana. 
Neither  was  she  one  of  the  patriotic  and  puritan  few  who 
shared  the  Doctor's  sympathies  and  princii:)les.  As  she 
came  of  an  old  French  Creole  family,  and  her  husband  had 
been  a  lawyer  of  note  and  an  ultra  southern  politician, 
she  belonged,  like  the  Ravenels,  to  the  patrician  order  of 
New  Orleans,  only  that  she  was  counted  among  the  Soul6 
set,  while  her  relatives  had  gone  over  to  the  Barker  fac- 
tion. She  had  not  been  reduced  to  beggary  by  the  advent 
of  the  Yankees  ;  her  estate  was  not  in  the  now  worthless 
investments  of  negroes,  plantations,  steamboats,  or  rail- 
roads, but  in  bank  stock ;  and  the  New  Orleans  banks, 
though  robbed  of  theii*  specie  by  the  flying  Lovell,  still 
made  theii'  paper  pass  and  commanded  a  markat  for  their 
shares.  But  Mrs.  Larue  was  disturbed  lest  she  might  m 
some  imforeseen  manner  follow  the  general  rush  to  rum ; 
and  thus,  in  respect  to  the  Vandal  invaders,  she  was  at 
once  a  little  timorous  and  a  little  savage. 

The  conversation  between  niece  and  youthful  aunt  was 
interrupted  by  a  call  from  Mrs.  and  Miss  Langdon,  two 
stern,  thin,  pale  ladies  in  black,  without  hoops,  highly 
aristocratic  and  inexorably  rebellious.  They  started  when 
they  saw  the  young  lady ;  then  recovered  themselves  and 
looked  on  her  with  unacquainted  eyes.  Miss  Larue  made 
haste,  smiling  mwardly,  to  introduce  her  cousin  Miss  Rav- 
enel. 


From     Se  cession     to     Loyalty.         145 

Ah,  indeed,  Miss  Ravenel !  They  remembered  having 
met  Miss  Ravenel  fomierly.  But  really  they  had  not  ex- 
pected to  see  her  in  New  Orleans.  They  supposed  that 
she  had  taken  up  her  residence  at  the  north  ^itli  her 
father. 

Lillie  trembled  with  mortification  and  colored  ^vith  an- 
ger. She  felt  with  a  shock  that  sentence  of  social  ostra- 
cism had  been  passed  upon  her  because  of  her  father's 
fidelity  to  th6  Union.  Was  this  the  reward  that  her  love 
for  her  native  city,  her  defence  of  Louisiana  in  the  midst 
of  Yankee-land,  had  deserved  ?  Was  she  to  be  ignored, 
cut,  satirized,  because  she  was  her  father's  daughter  ?  She 
rebelled  in  spirit  against  such  injustice  and  cruelty,  and 
remained  silent,  simply  expressing  her  feelmgs  by  a 
haughty  bow.  She  disdained  to  enter  upon  any  self-de- 
fence ;  she  perceived  that  she  could  not,  without  passing 
judgment  upon  her  much  adored  papa ;  and  finally  she 
knew  that  she  was  too  tremulous  to  speak  with  good  eifect. 
The  Langdons  and  Mrs.  Larue  proceeded  to  discuss  aflaii*.i 
political ;  metaphorically  tying  Beast  Butler  to  a  flaming 
stake  and  performmg  a  scalp  dance  around  it,  making 
a  drinking  cup  of  his  skull,  quafiing  from  it  refreshing 
draughts  of  Yankee  blood.  Lillie  remembered  that,  disa- 
greeably loyal  as  the  New  Boston  ladies  were,  she  had 
not  heard  from  their  lips  any  such  conversational  atrocities. 
She  did  not  sympathize  much  when  Mrs.  Langdon  entered 
on  a  lyrical  recital  of  her  own  wrongs  and  sorrows.  She 
was  sorry,  indeed,  to  hear  th^t  young  Fred  Langdon  had 
been  killed  at  Fort  Jackson ;  but  then  the  mother  ex- 
pi'essed  such  a  squaw-like  fury  for  revenge  as  quite 
shocked  and  rather  disgusted  our  heroine  ;  and  moreover 
she  could  not  forget  how  coolly  she  had  been  treated 
merely  because  she  was  her  dear  father's  daughter.  She 
actually  felt  incliued  to  laugh  satirically  when  the  two 
visitors  proceeded  to  relate  jointly  and  with  a  species  of 
solemn  ferocity  how  they  had  that  mornmg  snubbed  a 
Yankee  officer. 

G 


• 


146         Miss     Ravenel's     Conversion 

"The  brute  got  up  and  offered  us  his  seat  m  the  cars.  I 
didn't  look  at  him.      Neither  of  us  looked  at  him.      I  said 

^ve  both  said — '  We  accept  nothing  from  Yankees.'     I 

remained — Tve  both  remained — standing." 

Such  was  the  mild  substance  of  the  narrative,  but  it  was 
horrible  m  the  tellmg,  with  fierce  little  hisses  and  glares, 
stickmg  out  from  it  like  quills  of  the  fretful  porcupme. 
Miss  Ravenel  did  not  sympathize  with  the  conduct  of  the 
lair  snubbers,  and  I  fear  also  that  she  desii'cd  to  make 
them  feel  uncomfortable. 

"  Really,"  she  observed,  "  I  think  it  was  right  civil  m 
liim  to  give  up  his  seat.  I  didn't  know  that  they  were  so 
polite.  I  thought  they  treated  the  citizens  with  all  sorts  of 
indignities." 

To  this  the  Langdons  vouchsafed  no  reply  except  by 
rising  and  taking  their  departure. 

"  Good-day,  Miss  Ravenel,"  they  said.  "  So  suqDrised 
ever  to  have  seen  you  in  New  Orleans  again  !" 

Nor  did  they  ask  her  to  visit  them,  as  they  very  urgent- 
ly did  Mrs.  Larue.  It  seemed  likely  to  Lillie  that  she 
would  not  find  life  in  New  Orleans  so  pleasant  as  she  had 
expected.  Half  her  old  friends  had  disappeared,  and  the 
other  half  had  tmned  to  enemies.  She  was  to  be  cut  in 
the  street,  to  be  glared  at  in  church,  to  be  sneered  at  in 
the  parlor,  to  be  put  on  the  defensive,  to  be  obliged  to 
fight  for  herself  and  her  father.  Her  temper  rose  at  the 
thought  of  such  imdeserved  hardness,  and  she  felt  that  if 
it  continued  long  she  should  turn  loyal  for  very  spite. 

Doctor  Ravenel,  returning  from  his  inteiwiew  with  Col- 
burne,  met  the  Langdon  ladies  in  the  hall,  and,  although 
they  hardly  nodded,  waited  on  them  to  the  outer  door 
with  his  habitual  politeness.  Lillie  caught  a  glimpse  of 
this  from  the  parlor,  and  was  infuriated  by  then*  incivility 
and  his  lack  of  resentment. 

"  Didn't  they  speak  to  you,  papa?"  she  cried,  running 
to  him.  "  Then  I  would  have  let  them  finc^their  own  way 
out.     What  are  you  so  patient  for  ?" 


Fko.1    Secession,     to    Loyalty.         147 

"  Jfy  dear,  I  am  merely  followmo-  the  Christ  Jan  <>, 

Bet  me  by  these  low  Yankees  whom  we  a^TZ'"^^', 

insulted  to-day  by  a  woman  who  calls  herself  a  lad/ 
'V:?  "but     "l/r/'T'-r  ^^^"  =^  ^"""^  of  retaliation  ; 

itatiL:;o27ded:iK^^^^^^^^^ 

folly  may  have  deserved^pnSem"       '     """"■■  *"'• 

"'m'llri°f  P?P«'-ty  ?"  ^"^'PPed  the  young  lady 
tion?'    you  ask  for  the  sake  of  argument,  or  foAnforma- 

"Our  railroad  property,"  stated  the  Doctor    "  won't  h. 
worth  ^n^uchuntd  it  is  recovered  iron,  the   handTTthe 

"But  that  is  nearly  all  our  property." 
"Except  this  house." 

"  Yes  except  the  house.     But  how  are  we  to  live  in  ih. 
house  without  money  ^"  «  ^^  t.  lo  live  m  the 

Jj^5  to-day.     Captain  Col^.^be  he^eThifXtn! 

pWe."'"''^-"  ^^"^   ^"^-^  ^-"=    '-V.   '^I-'^-g  .Ith 

It  would  be  delightful  to  see  any  amicable  visa..e  in  this 
city  of  enemies;  and  moreover  4e  haA   „„      "oemims 
that  Captain  Colbnrne,  thought  TX^rjeSmln 
ly  and  agreeable;  she  had  even  admitted  thft  heT 
handsome,  though  not  so  handsome  as  Colot    Car^" 

Soi     Ts  sTm  ^  '"*?',:'  r  ^"^^  P-Pect  of  ?ma,e 
visitoi.     As  Sam  W  eller  might  have  phrased  it,  had  he 


148  Miss    Raven  el's    Conversion 

known  the  lady,  a  man  was  Mrs.  Larue's  "  particular  wan* 
ity."  The  kitchen  department  of  the  Ravenels  not  being 
yet  organized,  they  dined  that  day  with  their  relative. 
The  meal  over,  they  went  to  their  own  house,  Lillie  to  at- 
tend to  housekeeping  duties,  and  the  Doctor  to  forget  all 
trouble  in  a  box  of  minerals.  Lillie's  last  words  to  Mrs. 
Larue  had  been,  "  You  must  spend  the  evening  with  us. 
This  Captain  Colbume  is  right  pleasant." 

"  Is  he  ?  We  will  bring  him  over  to  the  right  side. 
When  he  gives  up  the  blue  uniform  for  the  grey  I  shall 
adore  him." 

"  I  don't  think  he  will  change  his  coat  easily." 

Tn  her  own  house  she  continued  to  think  of  the  Captain's 
coat,  and  then  of  another  coat,  the  same  in  color,  but  with 
two  rows  of  buttons. 

"  Who  did  you  see  out,  papa  ?"  she  asked  presently. 

"  Who  did  I  see  out  ?   Mr.  Colburne,  as  I  told  you." 

"  Nobody  else,  papa  ?" 

"  I  don't  recollect,"  he  said  absent-mindedly,  as  he  set- 
tled himself  to  a  microscopic  contemplation  of  a  bit  of  ore. 

"Don't  wrinkle  up  your  forehead  so.  I  wish  you 
wouldn't.  It  makes  you  look  old  enough  to  have  come 
over  with  Christopher  Columbus." 

It  was  a  part  of  her  adoration  of  her  father  that  she 
could  not  bear  to  see  in  him  the  least  symptoms  of  increas- 
ing age. 

"  I  don't  think  that  I  saw  a  single  old  acquaintance," 
said  the  Doctor,  rubbing  his  head  thoughtfully.  "  It  is  as- 
tonishing how  the  high  and  mighty  ones  have  disappeared 
from  this  city,  where  they  used  to  suppose  that  they  de- 
fied the  civilized  world.  The  barbarians  didn't  know  what 
the  civilized  world  could  do  to  them.  The  conceited  brag- 
gadocia  of  Xew  Orleans  a  year  ago  is  a  most  comical  re- 
miniscence now,  in  the  midst  of  its  speechless  terror  and 
submission.  One  can't  help  thinking  of  frogs  sitting 
around  their  own  puddle  and  trying  to  fill  the  universe 
with  their  roarinojs.      Some  urchin  throws  a  stone  into  the 


Fkom     Secession    to     Loyalty.  149 

puddle.  You  see  fifty  pairs  of  legs  twinkle  in  the  air,  and 
the  nproar  is  followed  by  silence.  It  was  just  so  here.  The 
United  States  pitched  Farragut  and  Butler  into  the  puddle 
of  secession,  and  all  our  political  roarers  dived  out  of 
sight.  Many  of  them  are  still  here,  but  they  keep  their 
noses  under  water.  By  the  way,  I  did  see  twc^of  my  old 
students,  Bradley  and  John  Akers.  Bradley  told  me  that 
the  rebel  authorities  maintained  a  pretence  of  victory  un- 
til the  last  moment,  probably  in  order  to  keep  the  popu- 
lace quiet  while  they  got  themselves  and  their  property 
out  of  the  city.  He  was  actually  reading  an  official  bulle- 
tin stating  that  the  Yankee  fleet  had  been  sunk  in  passing 
the  forts  when  he  heard  the  bang,  bang,  bang  of  Farra- 
gut's  cannonade  at  Chalmette.  Akers  was  himself  at 
Chalmette.  He  says  that  the  Hartford  came  slowly  around 
the  bend  below  the  fort  with,  a  most  provoking  comjoosure. 
They  immediately  opened  on  her  with  all  their  artillery. 
She  made  no  reply  and  began  to  turn.  They  thought  she 
was  about  to  run  away,  and  hurrahed  lustily.  Suddenly, 
whang !  crash !  she  sent  her  whole  broadside  into  them. 
Akers  says  that  not  a  man  of  them  waited  for  a  second 
salute ;  they  started  for  the  woods  in  a  body  at  full  speed  ; 
he  never  saw  such  running.  Their  heels  twinkled  like  the 
heels  of  the  frog  that  I  spoke  of" 

"  But  they  made  a  good  fight  at  the  forts,  papa." 

"  My  dear,  the  devil  makes  a  good  fight  against  his 
Maker.  But  it  is  small  credit  to  him — it  only  proves  his 
amazing  stupidity." 

"  Papa,"  said  Lillie  after  a  few  minutes  of  silence,  "  I 
think  you  might  let  those  stones  alone  and  take  me  out 
to  walk." 

"  To-morrow,  my  child.  It  is  nearly  sunset  now,  and 
Mr.  Colburne  may  come  early." 

A  quarter  of  an  hour  later  he  laid  aside  his  minerals  and 
picked  up  his  hat. 

"  Where  are  you  going  ?"  demanded  Lillie  eagerly  and 
almost  pettishly.     It  was  a  question  that  she  never  failed 


150         Miss     Ravexel's    Conversion 

to  put  to  him  in  that  same  semi-aggrieved  tone  every  time 
that  he  essayed  to  leave  her.  She  did  not  want  him  to  go 
out  unless  she  went  in  his  company.  If  he  would  go,  it 
was,  "  When  will  you  come  back  ?"  and  when  he  returned 
it  was,  "  Where  have  you  been  ?"  and  "  Who  did  you 
see  ?"  and  "  What  did  he  say  ?"  &c.  &c.  Never  was  a 
child  so  hjfimted  by  a  pet  sheep,  or  a  handsome  husband  by 
a  i^lain  wife,  as  was  this  charming  papa  by  his  doating 
daughter. 

"  I  am  going  to  Dr.  Elderkin's,"  said  Ravcnel.  "  I  hear 
that  he  has  been  kind  enough  to  store  my  electrical  ma- 
chine during  our  absence.  He  was  out  when  I  called  on 
him  this  morning,  but  he  was  to  be  at  home  by  six  this 
evening.     I  am  anxious  to  see  the  machine." 

"  Oh,  papa,  don't !  How  can  you  be  so  addled  about 
your  sciences  !  You  are  just  like  a  little  boy  come  home 
from  a  visit,  and  pulling  over  his  playthings.  Do  let  the 
machine  go  till  to-morrow." 

"  My  dear,   consider  how  costly  a  plaything  it  is.      I 
couldn't  replace  it  for  five  hundred  dollars." 
"  When  will  you  come  back  ?"  demanded  Lillie. 
"  By  half-past  seven  at  the  latest.     Brmg  in  Mrs.  Larue 
to  help  entertain  Captain  Colburne  ;  and  be  sure  to  ask 
him  to  wait  for  me." 

When  he  quitted  the  house  Lillie  went  to  the  window 
and  watched  him  until  he  was  out  of  sight.  She  always 
had  a  childish  aversion  to  bemg  left  alone,  and  solitude 
was  now  particularly  objectionable  to  her,  so  forsaken  did 
she  feel  in  this  city  where  she  had  once  been  so  happy. 
After  a  time  she  remembered  Captain  Colburne  and  the 
social  duties  of  a  state  of  young  ladyhood.  She  hurried 
to  her  room,  licchted  both  o:as-burners,  turned  their  fiiU 
luminosity  on  the  mirror,  loosened  up  the  flossy  waves  of 
her  blpnde  hair,  tied  on  a  pink  ribbon-knot,  and  then  a 
blue  one,  considered  gravely  as  to  wliicli  was  the  most 
becoming  and  finally  took  a  profile  view  of  the  effect  by 
means  of  a  hand-glass,  prinking  and  turnmg  and  adjusting 


From     Secession     to     Loyalty.         151 

her  plumage  like  a  canary.  She  was  conscientiously 
aware,  you  perceive,  of  her  obligation  to  put  herself  in 
suitable  condition  to  please  the  eye  of  a  visitor.  She  was 
not  a  learned  woman,  nor  an  unpleasantly  strong-minded 
one,  but  an  average  young  lady  of  good  breedmg — just 
such  as  most  men  fall  in  love  with,  who  wanted  social 
success,  and  depended  for  it  upon  pretty  looks  and  pleas- 
ant ways.  By  the  time  that  these  private  devoirs  were 
accomplished  Mrs.  Larue  entered,  bearing  marks  of  having 
given  her  person  a  similar  amount  of  fastidious  attention. 
Each  of  these  ladies  saw  what  the  other  had  been  about, 
but  neither  thought  of  being  surprised  or  amused  at  it.  To 
their  minds  such  preparation  was  j^erfectly  natural  and 
womanly,  and  they  would  have  deemed  the  absence  of  it 
a  gross  piece  of  untidiness  and  boorishness.  Mrs.  Larue 
put  Lillie's  blue  ribbon-knot  a  little  more  oif  her  forehead, 
and  Lillie  smoothed  out  an  almost  imperceptible  wrmkle 
m  3Irs.  Larue's  waist-belt.  I  am  not  positively  sure,  m- 
deed,  that  waist-belts  were  then  worn,  but  I  am  willing 
to  take  my  oath  that  some  small  office  of  the  kmd  was 
rendered. 

Of  course  it  would  be  agreeable  to  have  a  scene  here 
between  Colburne  and  Miss  Ravenel ;  some  burnmg  w^ords 
to  tell,  some  thrilling  looks  to  describe,  such  as  might 
'show  how  they  stood  with  regard  to  each  other — some- 
thing which  would  visibly  advance  both  these  yoimg  per- 
sons' heart-histories.  But  they  behaved  in  a  disappoint- 
ingly well-bred  manner,  and  entirely  refrained  from  turn- 
ing their  feelings  wrong  side  outwards.  With  the  excep- 
tion of  Miss  Ravenel's  inveterate  blush  and  of  a  slightly 
unnatural  rapidity  of  utterance  in  Captain  Colburne,  they 
met  like  a  young  lady  and  gentleman  who  were  on  excel- 
lent terms,  and  had  not  seen  each  other  for  a  month  or 
two.  This  is  not  the  way  that  heroes  and  heroines  meet 
on  the  boards  or  m  some  romances ;  but  in  actual  human 
society  they  frequently  balk  our  expectations  m  just  this 


152         Miss     Uavexel's     Conversion 

manner.  Mclo-dramatically  considered  real  life  is  frequent- 
ly a  foilure. 

"  You  don't  know  how  pleasant  it  is  to  me  to  meet  you 
and  your  father,"  said  Colburne.  "  It  seems  like  New  Bos- 
ton over  again." 

The  time  during  which  he  had  known  tlie  Ravenels  at 
New  Boston  was  now  a  pasture  of  very  delightful  things 
to  his  memory. 

"It  is  pleasant  to  me  because  it  seems  like  Xew  Or- 
leans," laughed  Miss  Lillie.  "  Xo,  not  much  like  New  Or- 
leans, either,"  she  added.  "  It  used  to  be  so  gay  and 
amusing  !  You  have  made  an  awfully  sad  place  of  it 
with  your  patriotic  invasion." 

"  It  is  bad  to  take  medicine,"  he  replied.  "  But  it  is 
better  to  take  it  than  to  stay  sick.  If  you  will  have  the 
self-denial  to  live  ten  years  longer,  you  will  see  Xew  Or- 
leans more  prosperous  and  lively  than  ever." 

"  I  shan't  like  it  so  well.  "V\"e  shall  be  nobodies.  Our 
old  friends  will  be  driven  out,  and  there  will  be  a  new  set 
Avho  won't  know  us." 

"  That  depends  on  yourselves.     They   will  be  glad  to 
know  you,  if  you  will  let  them.      I   understand  that  the 
jSTapoleonic  aristocracy  courts  the  old  out-of-place  oligar- 
chy of  the  Faubourg  St.  Germain.      It  will   be  like  that, 
here,  I  presume." 

Mrs.  Larue  had  at  first  remained  silent,  playing  off  a 
pretty  little  game  of  shyness  ;  but  seeing  that  the  young 
peoj^le  had  nothing  special  to  say  to  each  other,  she  gave 
way  to  her  sociable  instincts  and  joined  in  the  conversa- 
tion. 

"  Captain  Colburne,  I  will  promise  to  live  the  ten  years," 
she  saicL  "  I  want  to  see  Xew  Orleans  a  metropolis.  We 
ha^e  failed.  You  shall  succeed  ;  and  I  will  admire  your 
success." 

The  patriotic  young  soldier  looked  frankly  gratified.  He 
concluded  that  the  lady  was  one  of  the  far-famed  Unionists  • 
of  the  South,  a  race  then  really  about  as  extinct  as  the 


Fkom    Secession    to     Loyalty.         153 

rledo,  but  deTOutly  believed  in  by  the  sanguine  masses  of 
the  Xorth,  and  of\vhich  our  officers  at  Xew  Orleans  were 
consequently  much  in  search.  He  began  to  talk  gaily, 
pushing  his  hair  up  as  usual  when  in  good  spirits,  and 
laughing  heartily  at  the  slightest  approach  to  wit,  whether 
made  by  himself  or  another.  Some  people  thought  that 
Mr.  Colburne  laughed  too  much  for  thorough  good  breed- 
ing. 

"  I  feel  quite  weighted  by  what  you  expect,"  he  said. 
"  T  want  to  go  to  work  immediately  and  build  a  brick  and 
plaster  State-house  like  ours  in  Xew  Boston.  I  suppose 
every  metropolis  must  have  a  State-house.  But  you  mustn't 
expect  too  much  of  me  ;  yon  mustn't  watch  me  too  close. 
I  shall  want  to  sleep  occasionally  in  the  ten  years." 

"  We  shall  look  to  see  you  here  from  time  to  time,"  re- 
joined Mrs.  Larue. 

"  You  may  be  sure  that  I  shan't  forget  that.  There  are 
other  reasons  for  it  besides  my  admiration  for  your  loyal 
sentiments,"  said  Colburne,  attempting  a  double-shotted 
compliment,  one  projectile  for  each  lady. 

At  that  imputation  of  loyal  sentiments  Lillie  could 
hardly  restrain  a  laugh ;  but  Mrs.  Larue,  not  in  the  least 
disconcerted,  bowed  and  smiled  graciously. 

"  I  am  sorry  to  say,"  he  continued,  "  that  most  of  the 
ladies  of  New  Orleans  seem  to  regard  us  with  a  perfect 
hatred.  When  I  pass  them  in  the  street  they  draw  them- 
selves aside  in  such  a  way  that  I  look  in  the  first  attain- 
able mirror  to  see  if  I  have  the  small-pox.  They  are 
dreadfully  sensitive  to  the  presence  of  Yankees.  They  re- 
mind me  of  the  catarrhal  gentleman  who  sneezed  every 
time  an  ice-cart  drove  by  his  house.  Seriously  they  abuse 
us.  I  was  dreadfully  set  down  by  a  couple  of  women  in 
black  this  morning.  They  entered  a  street  car  in  which  I 
was.  There  were  several  citizens  present,  but  not  one  of 
them  offered  to  give  up  his  place.  I  rose  and  offered  them 
mine.  They  no  more  took  it  than  if  they  knew^  that  I  had 
scalped  all  their  relatives.     They  surveyed  me  from  head 


154         Miss     Ravenel's     Conversion 

to  foot  with  a  lofty  scorn  which  made  them  seem  fifty 
feet  high  and  fifty  years  okl  to  my  terrified  optics.  They 
hissed  out,  *  We  accej^t  nothuig  from  Yankees,'  and  re- 
mained standing.  The  hiss  would  have  done  honor  to 
Rachel  or  to  the  geese  who  saved  Rome." 

The  two  listeners  laughed  and  exchanged  a  glance  of 
comprehension. 

"  Offer  them  your  hand  and  heart,  and  see  if  they  won't 
accept  something  from  a  Yankee,"  said  Mrs.  Larue. 

Colburne  looked  a  trifle  disconcerted,  and  because  he 
did  so  Miss  Ravenel  Mushed.  In  both  these  young  j^er- 
sons  there  Avas  a  susceptibility,  a  promptness  to  take 
alarm  with  regard  to  hymenial  subjects  which  indicated 
at  least  that  they  considered  themselves  old  enough  to 
marry  each  other  or  somebody,  whether  the  event  would 
ever  happen  or  not. 

"  I  suppose  Miss  Ravenel  thmks  I  was  served  perfectly 
right,"  observed  Colburne.  "  If  I  see  her  standing  in  a 
street  car  and  offer  her  my  seat,  I  suppose  she  will  say 
somethmg  crushing." 

He  23referred,  you  see,  to  talk  apropos  of  Miss  Ravenel, 
rather  than  of  Mrs.  Larue  or  the  Langdons. 

"  Please  don't  fail  to  try  me,"  observed  Lillie.  "  I  hate 
to  stand  up  unless  it  is  to  dance." 

As  Colburne  had  not  been  permitted  to  learn  dancing  m 
his  younger  days,  and  had  felt  ashamed  to  undertake  it  in 
what  seemed  to  him  his  present  fullness  of  years,  he  had 
nothing. to  say  on  the  new  idea  suggested.  The  speech 
even  made  him  feel  a  little  uneasy  :  it  sounded  like  an 
implication  that  Miss  Ravenel  preferred  men  who  danced  to 
men  who  did  not:  so  fastidiously  jealous  and  sensitive  are 
people  who  are  ever  so  slightly  in  love. 

In  this  wandering  and  suj^erficial  way  the  conversation 
rippled  along  for  nearly  an  hour.  Colburne  had  been 
nonplussed  from  the  beginning  by  not  finding  his  young 
lady  alone,  and  not  being  able  therefore  to  say  to  her  at 
least  a  few  of  the  affectino-  thinojs  which  were  in  the  hot- 


Fro:m    Secession     to     Loyalty.        155 

torn  of  his  heart.  He  had  amved  at  the  house  full  of 
2)leasant  emotion,  believing  that  he  should  certainly  over- 
flow with  warm  expressions  of  friendship  if  he  did  not 
absolutely  pour  forth  a  torrent  of  passionate  affection. 
Mrs.  Larue  had  dropped  among  his  agreeable  bubbles  of 
expectation  like  a  piece  of  ice  into  a  goblet  of  cham- 
pagne, taking  the  life  and  effervescence  out  of  the  generous 
fluid.  He  was  occupied,  not  so  much  in  talking  or  listen- 
ing, as  m  cogitating  how  he  could  bring  the  conversa- 
tion into  congeniality  with  his  own  feelmgs.  By  the  way, 
if  he  had  found  Miss  Ravenel  alone,  I  doubt  whether 
he  would  have  dared  say  any  thing  to  her  of  a  startling 
nature.  He  over-estimated  her  and  was  afraid  of  her  ;  he 
under-estimated  himself  and  was  too  modest. 

Lillie  had  repeatedly  wondered  to  herself  why  her 
father  did  not  come.  At  last  she  looked  at  her  Avatch  and 
exclaimed  with  anxious  astonishment,  "  Half  past  eight ! 
Why,  Yictorine,  where  can  papa  be  ?" 

"  At  Doctor  Elderkin's  without  doubt.  Once  that  two 
men  commence  on  the  politics  they  know  not  how  to 
finish." 

"  I  don't  believe  it,"  said  the  girl  with  the  unreasona- 
bleness common  to  affectionate  people  when  they  are  anx- 
ious about  the  person  they  like.  "  I  don't  believe  he  is 
staying  there  so  long.  I  am  afraid  something  has  happened 
to  him.  He  said  he  would  certainly  be  back  by  half  past 
seven.  He  relied  on  seeing  Captain  Colburne.  I  really 
am  very  anxious.     The  city  is  in  such  a  dreadful  state  !" 

"  I  will  go  and  inquire  for  him,"  offered  Colburne. 
"  Where  is  Doctor  Elderkin's  ?" 

"  Oh,  my  dear  Captain  !  don't  think  of  it,"  objected 
Mrs.  Larue.  "  You,  a  federal  officer,  you  would  really  be 
in  danger  in  the  streets  at  night,  in  this  imguarded  part  of 
the  city.  You  would  certainly  catch  harm  from  our 
canaille.  Re-assure  yourself,  cousin  Lillie.  Your  father, 
a  citizen,  is  in  no  peril." 

Mrs.  Larue  really  believed  that  the  Doctor  ran  little 


156         Miss     Ravexel's     Conversion 

risk,  but  her  main  object  in  talking  Avas  to  start  an  interest 
between  herself  and  the  young  officer,  lie  smiled  at  the 
idea  of  his  being  attacked,  and,  disregarding  the  aunt, 
looked  to  the  niece  for  orders.  Miss  RaA'enel  thought  that 
he  hesitated  through  fear  of  the  canaille,  and  gave  him  a 
glance  of  impatience  bordermg  disagreeably  close  on  an- 
ger. Smarting  under  the  injustice  of  this  look  he  said 
quietly,  "  I  will  bring  you  some  news  before  long,"  in- 
quired the  way  to  the  Elderkin  house,  and  went  out.  At 
the  first  turning  he  came  upon  a  man  sittmg  on  a  flight  of 
front-door  steps,  and  wiping  from  his  fac-e  with  his  hand- 
kerchief somethmg  which  showed  like  blood  in  the  gas- 
light. 

"Is  that  you,  Doctor?"  he  said.  "-Are  you  hurt? 
What  has  happened  ?" 

"  I  have  been  struck. — Some  blackguard  struck  me. — 
With  a  bludgeon,  I  think." 

Colburne  picked  up  his  hat,  aided  in  bandaging  a  cut 
on  the  forehead,  and  offered  his  arm. 

"  It  does'nt  look  very  bad,  does  it  ?"  said  Ravenel.  "  I 
thought  not.  My  hat  broke  the  force  of  the  blow.  But 
still  it  prostrated  me.  I  am  really  very  much  obliged  to 
you," 

"  Have  you  any  idea  who  it  was  ?" 

."  N'ot  the  least.  Oh,  it's  only  an  ordinary  Xew  Or- 
leans salutation.  I  knew  I  was  in  Xew  Orleans  Avhen  I 
was  hit,  just  as  the  shipwrecked  man  knew  he  was  in  a 
Christian  country  when  he  saw  a  gallows." 

"  You  take  it  very  coolly,  sir.  You  would  make  a  good 
soldier." 

"  I  belong  in  the  city.  It  is  one  of  our  pretty  ways  to 
brain  people  by  surprise.  I  never  had  it  happen  to  me 
before,  but  I  have  always  contemplated  the  possibility  of 
it.  I  wasn't  in  the  least  astonished.  How  lucky  I  had  on 
that  deformity  of  civilization,  a  stiff  beaver  !  I  will  wear 
nothmg  but  beavers  henceforward.  I  swear  allegiance  to 
them,  as  Baillie  Jarvie  did  to  guid  braidcloth.     A  brass 


From     Secession    to     Loyalty.  157 

helmet  T^^ould  be  still  better.  Somebody  ought  to  get  up 
a  dress  hat  of  aluminum  for  the  New  Orleans  market." 
"  Oh,  papa  !"  screamed  Lillie,  when  she  saw  him  enter 
•  on  Colburne's  arm,  his  hat  smashed,  his  face  pale,  and  a 
streak  of  half- wiped  blood  down  the  bridge  of  his  nose. 
She  was  the  whitest  of  the  two,  and  needed  the  most  at- 
tention for  a  mmute.  Mrs.  Larue  excited  Colburne's  ad- 
miration by  the  cool  efficiency  with  which  she  exerted 
herself— bringmg  water,  sponges  and  bandages,  washing 
the  cut,  bindmg  it  up  artistically,  and  finishmg  the  treat- 
ment with  a  glass  of  sherry.  Her  late  husband  used  to 
be  brought  home  occasionally  in  similar  condition,  except 
that  he  took  his  sherry,  and  a  great  deal  of  it  too,  in  ad- 
vance. 

"It  was  one  of  those  detestable  soldiers,"  exclaimed 
Lillie. 

"  No,  my  dear,"  said  the  Doctor.  "  It  was  one  of  our 
own  excellent  people.  They  are  so  ardent  and  impulsive 
you  know.  They  have  the  southern  heart,  always  fired 
up.  It  was  some  old  acquaintance,  you  may  depend,  al- 
though I  did  not  recognize  him.  As  he  struck  me  he  said, 
'  Take  that,  you  Federal  spy.'  He  added  an  epithet  that  I 
doli't  care  to  repeat,  not  believing  that  it  apj^lies  to  me. 
I  think  he  would  have  renewed  the  attack  but  for  the  ap- 
proach of  some  one,  probably  Captain  Colburne.  You  owe 
him  a  word  of  thanks,  Lillie,  particularly  after  what  you 
have  said  about  soldiers." 

The  young  lady  held  out  her  hand  to  the  Captam  with 
an  impulse  of  gratitude  and  compunction.  He  took  it 
and  could  not  resist  the  temptation  of  stoopmg  and  kissing 
it,  whereupon  her  white  face  flushed  mstantaneously  to  a 
crimson.  Mrs.  Larue  smiled  knowingly  and  said,  "  That 
is  mnj  French,  Captain ;  you  will  do  admirably  for  New 
Orleans." 

"  He  doesn't  know  all  the  pretty  manners  and  customs 
of  the  place,"  remarked  the  Doctor,  who  was  not  evidently 
displeased  at  the  kiss.     "  He  hasn't  yet  learned  to  knock 


158         Miss     Ravexel's     Coxversion 

down  elderly  gentlemen  because  tliey  disagn.'e  witli  him 
in  politics.  They  are  awfully  behmd-hand  at  the  North, 
Mrs.  Larue,  in  those  social  graces.  The  mudsill  Sumner 
was  too  unpolished  to  think  of  clubbing  the  brains  out  of 
the  gentleman  Brooks.  He  boorishly  undertook  to  settle 
a  question  of  right  and  justice  by  argument." 

"  You  must'nt  talk  so  much,  papa,"  urged  Lillie.  "  You 
ought  to  go  to  bed." 

Colburne  bade  them  good  evening,  but  on  reaching  the 
door  stopped  and  said,  "  Do  you  feel  safe  here  ?" 

Lillie  looked  grateful  and  wishful,  as  though  she  would 
have  liked  a  guard ;  but  the  Doctor  answered,  "  Oh,  per- 
fectly safe,  as  far  as  concerns  that  fellow.  He  ran  off  too 
much  frightened  to  attempt  any  thing  more  at  present. 
So  much  obliged  to  you  !" 

Xevertheless,  a  patrol  of  the  Tenth  Barataria  did  arrive 
in  the  vicmity  of  the  Ravenel  mansion  during  the  night, 
and  scoured  the  streets  till  daybreak,  arresting  every  man 
who  carried  a  cane  and  could  not  give  a  good  account  of 
himself.  In  a  general  way,  New  Orleans  was  a  safer 
l^lace  in  these  times  than  it  had  been  before  since  it  was  a 
village.  I  may  as  well  say  here  that  the  perpetrator  of 
this  assault  was  not  discovered,  and  that  the  adventure 
had  no  results  except  a  day  or  two  of  headache  to  the 
Doctor,  and  a  considerable  progress  in  the  conversion  of 
Miss  Ravenel  from  the  doctrine  of  state  sovereignty. 
Women,  especially  warm-hearted  women  offended  in  the 
persons  of  those  whom  they  love,  are  so  terribly  illogical ! 
If  Mr.  Secretary  Seward,  with  all  his  constitutional  lore 
and  persuasive  eloquence,  had  argued  with  her  for  thi-ee 
weeks,  he  could  not  have  converted  her ;  but  the  moment 
a  southern  ruffian  knocked  her  father  on  the  head,  she  be- 
gan to  see  that  secession  was  indefensible,  and  that  the 
American  Union  ought  to  be  preserved. 

"  It  was  a  mere  sporadic  outbreak  of  our  local  light- 
heartedness,"  observed  Ravenel,  speaking  of  the  outrage. 
"  The  man  had  no  designs — no  permanent  malice.     He 


From    Secession    to    Loyalty.  159 

merely  took  advantage  of  a  charming  opportunity.  He 
saw  a  loyal  head  within  reach  of  his  bludgeon,  and  he  m- 
stinctively  made  a  clutch  at  it.  The  finest  gentlemen  of 
the  city  would  have  done  as  much  under  the  same  tempta- 
tion." ^ 


CHAPTER  Xn. 

COLOXEL  CAETER  BEFEIEXDS  THE  EAVEXELS. 

Captaen^  Colbuexe  indulged  in  a  natural  expectation 
that  the  kiss  which  he  had  laid  on  Miss  Ravenel's  hand 
Avould  draw  him  nearer  to  her  and  render  their  relations 
more  sentimentally  sympathetic.  He  did  not  base  his  hopes, 
however,   on  the  imj^ression  produced  by  the  mere  phy- 
sical contact  of  the  salute  ;  he  had  such  an  exalted  opm- 
ion    of  the    young  lacly's  spiritual  purity  that  he  never 
thought  of  believing  that  she  could  be  influenced  by  any 
simply  carnal  impulses,  however  innocent;  and  further- 
more he  was  himself  in  a  too  exalted  and  seraphic  state  of 
feeling  to  attach  much  importance  to  the  mere  motion  of 
the  blood  and  thrillings  of  the  spinal  marrow.    But  he  did 
think,  in  an  unreasonmg,  blindly  longing  way,  that  the 
fact  of  his  having  kissed  her  once  was  good  reason  for 
hoping  that  he  might  some  day  kiss  her  again,  and  be  per- 
mitted to  love  her  T\dthout  exciting  her  anger,  and  possi- 
bly even  gain  the  wondrous  boon  of  being  loved  by  her. 
Notwithstandmg  his  practical  New  England  education, 
and  his  individual  sensitiveness  at  the  idea  of  doing  or  so 
much  as  meditatmg  any  thmg  ridiculous,  he  diifted  into 
certam  reveries  of  conceivable  interviews  with  the  young 
lady,  wherem  she  and  he  gradually  and  sweetly  approx- 
inated  until  matrimony  seemed  to  be  the  only  natural  con- 
clusion.    But  the  next  time  he  called  at  the  Ravenel  house, 
he  found  Mrs.  Larue  there,  and,  what  was  worse.  Colonel 


160  Miss     Raven  el's     Cox  version 

Carter.  Lillie  remembered  the  kiss,  to  be  sure,  and 
blushed  at  the  sight  of  the  giver ;  but  she  preserved  her 
self-j^ossession  in  all  other  resj^ects,  and  was  evidently  not 
a  charmed  victim.  I  think  I  am  able  to  assure  the  reader 
that  in  her  head  the  osculation  had  given  birth  to  no  re- 
veries. It  is  true  that  for  a  moment  it  had  startled  her 
greatly,  and  seemed  to  awaken  in  her  some  mighty  and 
mysterious  influence.  But  it  is  also  true  that  she  was  half 
angry  at  huu  for  troubling  her  spiritual  nature  so  po- 
tently, and  that  on  the  whole  he  had  not  advanced  him- 
self a  single  step  in  her  affections  by  his  audacity.  If  any 
thing,  she  treated  him  with  more  reserve  and  kept  him  at 
a  greater  distance  than  before. 

]Mrs.  Larue  did  her  best  to  make  up  for  the  indifference 
of  Lillie,  and  to  reward  Colburne,  not  so  much  for  his 
friendly  offices  of  the  evening  previous,  as  for  his  other 
and  in  her  eyes  much  greater  merits  of  bemg  young  and 
handsome.  The  best  that  the  widow  could  offer,  however, 
was  little  to  the  Captain  -  indeed  had  she  laid  her  heart, 
hand  and  fortune  at  his  feet  he  would  only  have  been  em- 
barrassed by  the  unacceptable  benificence ;  and  he  was 
even  somewhat  alarmed  at  the  dangerous  glitter  of  her 
eyes  and  freedom  of  her  conversation.  It  must  be  under- 
stood here  that  Madame's  devotion  to  him,  fervent  as  it 
seemed,  was  not  whole-hearted.  She  would  have  preferred 
to  harness  the  Colonel  into  her  triumjihal  chariot,  and  had 
only  given  up  that  idea  after  a  series  of  ineffectual  efforts. 
Some  men  can  be  driven  by  a  cimning  hand  through  flirt- 
ations which  they  do  not  enjoy,  just  as  a  spiritless  horse 
can  be  held  down  and  touched  up,  to  a  creditable  trot ; 
but  Carter  was  not  a  nag  to  be  managed  m  this  way, 
being  too  experienced  and  selfish,  too  willful  by  nature 
and  too  much  accustomed  to  domineer,  to  allow  himself 
to  be  guided  by  a  jockey  whom  he  did  not  fancy.  Could 
she  have  got  at  him  alone  and  often  enough  she  might 
perhaps  have  broken  him  in ;  for  she  knew  of  certain 
secret  methods  of  rareyizmg  gentlemen  which  hardly  evei 


FPvOii     Secession    to     Loyalty.       1G1 

fail  upon  persons  of  Carter's  physical  and  moral  nature  ; 
but  thus  far  she  had  found  neither  the  time  nor  the  juxta- 
position necessary  to  a  trial  of  her  system.  Accordingly 
she  had  been  obliged  to  admit,  and  make  the  best  of,  the 
fact  that  he  was  resolved  to  do  the  most  of  his  talkmo^ 
with  Miss  Ravenel.  Leave  the  two  alone  she  could  not, 
according  to  Xew  Orleans  ideas  of  propriety,  and  so  was 
compelled  for  a  tune  to  play  what  might  be  called  a  foot- 
man's part  in  conversation,  standing  behind  and  listening. 
It  was  a  pleasant  relief  from  this  experience  to  take  the 
ribbons  in  her  own  hands  and  drive  the  tractable  though 
reluctant  Colburne.  Whrle  the  Colonel  and  Lillie  talked 
in  the  parlor,  the  Captain  and  Mrs.  Larue  held  long  dia- 
logues in  the  balcony.  He  let  her  have  the  major  part  of 
these  conversations  because  she  liked  it,  because  he  felt 
no  particular  spirit  for  it,  and  because  as  a  listener  he  could 
glance  oftener  at  Miss  Ravenel.  Although  a  younger 
man  than  Carter  and  a  handsomer  one,  he  never  thought 
to  outshine  him,  or,  in  ©ommon  j)arlance,  to  cut  him  out ; 
holding  him  in  too  high  respect  as  a  superior  officer,  and 
looking  up  to  him  also  with  that  deference  which  most 
homebred,  unvitiated  youth  accord  to  mature  worldlmgs. 
The  mnocent  country  lad  bows  to  the  courtly  roue  because 
he  perceives  his  polish  and  does  not  suspect  his  corruption. 
Captain  Colburne  and  Miss  Ravenel  were  similarly  m- 
nocent  and  juvenile  m  their  worshipful  appreciation  of 
Colonel  Carter.  The  only  difference  was  that  the  former, 
bemg  a  man,  made  no  secret  of  his  admiration,  while  the 
latter,  bemg  a  marriageable  young  lady,  covered  hers  un- 
der a  mask  of  playful  raillery. 

*'  Are  you  not  ashamed,"  she  said,  "  to  let  me  catch  you 
tyrannizing  over  my  native  city  ?" 

"  Don't  mention  it.  Havn't  the  heart  to  go  on  much 
longer.  I'y  resign  the  mayoralty  to-day  if  you  will  ac- 
cept it." 

"  Offer  it  to  my  father,  and  see  if  I  don't  accept  for  him." 

This  was  a  more  audacious  thrust  than  the  young  lady 


c 

162        Miss    R  a  yen  el's    Conversion 

was  aware  of.  The  idea  of  a  civilian  mayor  was  one  that 
High  Authority  considered  feasible,  provided  a  citizen 
could  be  found  who  was  loyal  enough  to  deserve  the  post, 
and  influential  enough  to  pay  for  it  by  building  up  that 
so  much-desired  Union  party. 

"  A  good  suggestion,"  said  the  Colonel.  "  I  shall  res- 
pectfully refer  it  to  the  distinguished  consideration  of  the 
commanding  general." 

He  entertained  no  such  intention,  the  extras  of  his 
mayoralty  being  exceedmgly  important  to  hun  in  view  of 
the  extent  and  costly  nature  of  his  present  domestic  estab- 
lishment. 

"  Oh,  don't !"  answered  Miss  Ravenel. 

"  Why  not  ?  if  you  please." 

"  Because  that  would  be  bribing  me  to  turn  Yankee  out- 
right." 

This  brief  passage  in  a  long  conversation  suggested  to 
Carter  that  it  might  be  well  for  himself  to  procure  some 
position  or  profitable  employment  for  the  out-of-work  Doc- 
tor. If  a  man  seems  likely  to  appropriate  your  peaches, 
one  of  the  best  things  that  you  can  do  is  to  ofier  him  some- 
body else's  apples.  Moreover  he  actually  felt  a  sincere 
and  even  strong  interest  in  th@  worldly  welfare  of  the 
Ravenels.  By  a  little  dexterous  questioning  he  found 
that,  not  only  was  the  Doctor's  college  bare  of  students, 
but  that  his  railroad  stock  paid  nothmg,  and  that,  m  short, 
he. had  lost  all  his  property  except  his  house  and  some 
small  bank  deposits.  Ravenel  smilingly  admitted  that  he 
had  been  justly  punished  for  mvestingin  anything  wliicli 
bore  even  a,  geographical  relation  to  the  crime  of  slavery. 
He  received  with  bewildered  though  courteously  calm  as- 
tonishment a  proposition  that  he  should  try  his  hand  at  a 
sugar  speculation. 

"  I  beg  pardon.  I  really  don't  understand,"  said  he. 
"  I  am  so  unaccustomed  to  business  transactions." 

"  Why,  you  buy  the  sugar  for  six  cents  a  pound  and 
sell  it  for  twenty." 


Fkom     Secession    to     Loyalty.         163 

"  Bless  me,  what  a  profit !  Why  don't  business  men 
take  adrantage  of  the  opportunity  ?" 

"  Because  they  havn't  the  opportunity.  Because  it  re- 
quires a  permit  from  the  powers  that  be  to  get  the  sugar." 

"  Oh  !  confiscated  sugar.  I  comprehend.  But  I  suj)- 
posed  that  the  Government — " 

"  You  don't  comprehend  at  all,  my  dear  Doctor.  Xot 
confiscated  sugar,  but  sugar  that  we  can't  confiscate — 
sugar  beyond  our  reach — beyond  the  lines.  You  must 
understand  that  the  rebels  want  quinine,  salt,  shoes,  gold 
and  lots  of  things.  We  want  sugar  and  cotton.  A  bar- 
ter is  effected,  and  each  party  is  benefited.  I  should  call 
it  a  stupid  arrangement  and  contrary  to  the  laws  of  war, 
only  that  it  is  permitted  by — by  very  high  authority.  At 
all  events,  it  is  very  profitable  and  perfectly  safe." 

"  You  really  astonish  me,"  confessed  the  Doctor,  whose 
looks  expressed  even  more  amazement  than  his  language. 
"  I  should  have  considered  such  a  trade  nothing  less  than 
treasonable." 

'*  I  don't  mean  to  say  that  it  isn't.  But  I  am  willmg  to 
make  allowances  for  the  parties  who  engage  in  it,  consid- 
ering whose  auspices  they  act  under.  As  I  was  saying, 
the  trade  is  contrary  to  the  articles  of  war.  It  is  giving 
aid  and  comfort  to  the  enemy.  But  the  powers  that  be, 
for  unknown  reasons  which  I  am  of  course  bound  to  re- 
spect, grant  permits  to  certain  persons  to  bring  about 
these  exchanges.  I  don't  doubt  that  such  a  permit  could 
be  obtained  for  you.     Will  you  accept  it  ?" 

"  Would  you  accept  it  for  yourself?"  asked  the  Doctor. 

"I  am  a  United  States  officer,"  replied  the  Colonel, 
squaiing  his  shoulders.  "And  a  born  Virginian  gen- 
tleman," he  was  about  to  add,  but  checked  himself 

By  the  way,  it  is  remarkable  how  rarely  this  man  spoke 
of  his  native  State.  It  is  likely  enough  that  he  had  some 
remorse  of  conscience,  or  rather  some  qualms  of  sentiment, 
as  to  the  choice  which  he  had  made  in  fighting  against, 
instead  of  for,  the  Old  Dominion.     If  he  ever  mentioned 


1G4  Miss     Rat  ex  el's     Conversion 

lier  name,  it  was  simply  to  express  his  pleasure  that  he 
was  not  warring  w^ithin  her  borders.      In  other  respects  it 
would  have  been  difficult  to  infer  from  his  conversation 
that  he  was  a  southerner,  or  that  he  was  conscious  of  be- 
ino-  any  thing  but  a  graduate  of  West  Point  and  an  officer 
of°the  United  States  army.      But  it  was  only  in  political 
matters  that  he  was  false  to  his  birth-place.     In  his  strong 
passions,  his  capacity  for  domestic  sympathies,  his  strange 
conscience    (as    sensitive    on   some    points  as  callous  on 
others),  his  spendthrift  habits,  his  inclination  to  swearing 
and  drinking,  his  mixture  in  short  of  gentility  and  bar- 
barism, he  was  a  true  child  of  his  class  and  State.     He 
was  a  Virginian  in  his  vacillation  previous  to  a  decision, 
and  in  the  vigor  which  he  could  exhibit  after  having  once 
decided.     A  Virginian  gentleman  is   popularly  supposed 
to  be  a  combination  of  laziness  and  dignity.      But  this  is 
an  error;  the  type  would  be  considered  a  marvel  of  energy 
in  some  countries  ;  and,  as  we  have  seen  in  this  war,  it  is 
capable  of  amazing  activity,  audacity  and  perseverance. 
Of  all  the  States  which  have  fought  against  the .  Union 
Virginia  has  displayed  the  most  formidable  military  qual- 
ities. 

■"  And  I  am  a  United  States  citizen,"  said  the  Doctor, 
as  firmly  as  the  Colonel,  though  without  squarmg  his 
shoulders  or  making  any  other  physical  assertion  of  lofty 
character. 

"  Very  well. — You  mean  it,  I  suppose. — Of  course  you 
do. — You  are  quite  right.  It  isn't  the  correct  thing,  this 
trade,  as  a  matter  of  course.  Still,  knowing  that  it  was 
allowed,  and  not  knowing  how  you  might  feel  about  it,  I 
thought  I  would  offer  you  the  chance.  It  pays  like  pii-a- 
cy.  I  have  known  a  single  smuggle*  to  net  forty  thou- 
sand dollars,  after  paying  hush  money  and  every  thing." 
"  Shocking  !"  said  the  Doctor.  "  But  you  mustn't 
thmk  that  I  am  not  obliged  to  you.  I  really  am  grateful 
for  your  interest  in  my  well-being.  Only  I  can't  accept. 
Some    men    have    virtue    strong  enough  to  survive  such 


From     Secession    to     Loyalty.         165 

things  ;  but  I  fear  that  my  character  is  of  too  low  and  fee- 
ble a  standard."  • 

"You  are  not  offended,  I  hope,"  observed  the  Colonel 
after  a  thoughtful  pause,  during  which  he  debated 
whether  he  should  offer  the  Doctor  the  mayoralty,  and  de- 
cided in  the  negative. 

"  Not  at  all.  I  beg  you  to  believe,  not  at  all.  But 
how  is  it  possible  that  such  transactions  are  not  checked  !" 
he  exclaimed,  recurring  to  his  amazement.  "  The  govern- 
ment ought  to  be  informed  of  them." 

"Who  is  to  inform?  Xot  the  barterers  nor  their  abet- 
tors, I  suppose.  You  don't  expect  that  of  these  business 
fellows.  You  think  perhaps  that  I  ought  to  expose  the 
thing.  But  in  the  army  we  obey  orders  without  criticising 
our  superiors  publicly.  Suppose  I  should  inform,  and  find 
myself  unable  to  prove  any  thing,  and  be  dismissed  the 
service." 

The  Doctor  hung  his  head  in  virtuous  discouragement, 
admitting  to  himself  that  this  world  is  indeed  an  unsatis- 
factory planet. 

"  You  may  rely  upon  my  secrecy  concerning  all  this, 
Colonel,"  he  said. 

"  I  do  so  ;  at  least  so  far  as  regards  your  authority.  As 
for  the  trade  itself,  I  don't  care  how  soon  it  is  blown 
upon." 

If  the  Colonel  had  been  a  quoter  of  poetry,  which  ho 
was  not,  he  would  probably  have  repeated  as  he  walked 
homeward  '•  An  honest  man's  the  noblest  work  of  God." 
What  he  did  say  to  himself  was,  "  By  Jove  !  I  must  get 
the  Doctor  a  good  thing  of  some  sort." 

Ten  days  later  he  called  at  the  house  with  a  second 
proposition  which  astonished  Ravenel  almost  as  much  as 
the  first. 

"  Miss  Ravenel,"  he  said,  "  you  are  a  very  influential 
person.  Every  body  who  knows  you  admits  it.  Mr.  Col- 
burne  admits  it.     I  admit  it." 

Lillie  blushed  with  unusual  heartmess   and  tried  in  vain 


166         Miss    Raven  el's     Conversion 

to  think  of  some  saucy  answer.  The  Colonel's  quizzical 
smile,  histfree  and  easy  compliments  and  confident  ad- 
dress, sometimes  touched  the  pride  of  the  young  lady,  and 
made  her  desire  to  rebel  against  him. 

"  I  want  you,"  he  continued,  "  to  persuade  Doctor  Rav- 
enel  to  be  a  colonel." 

"  A  colonel !"  exclaimed  father  and  daughter.  , 

"  Yes,  and  a  better  colonel  than  half  those  in  the  ser- 
vice." 

"  On  which  side,  Colonel  Carter  ?"  asked  Miss  Ravenel, 
who  saw  a  small  chance  for  vengeance. 

"  Good  heavens  !  Do  you  suppose  I  am  recruiting  for 
lebel  regiments ?" 

"  I  didn't  know  but  Mrs.  Larue  might  have  brought  you 
over." 

The  Colonel  laughed  obstreperously  at  the  insinuation, 
not  in  the  least  dashed  by  its  pertness. 

"  No,  it's  a  loyal  regiment ;  black  in  the  face  with  loy- 
alty. General  Butler  has  decided  on  organizing  a  force 
out  of  the  free  colored  population  of  the  city." 

''  It  isn't  possible.  Oh,  what  a  shame !"  exclaimed 
Lillie. 

The  Doctor  said  nothing,  but  leaned  forward  with 
marked  mterest. 

"  There  is  no  secret  about  it,"  continued  Carter.  "  The 
thing  is  decided  on,  and  will  be  made  public  immediately. 
But  it  is  a  disagreeable  affair  to  handle.  It  will  make  an 
awful  outcry,  here  and  every  where.  It  wouldn't  be  wise 
to  identify  the  Government  too  closely  with  it  until  it  is 
sure  to  be  a  success.  Consequently  the  darkies  will  be  en- 
rolled as  militia — State  troops,  you  see — just  as  your  rebel 
friend  Lovell,  Miss  Ravenel,  enrolled  them.  Moreover,  to 
give  the  arrangement  a  further  local  character  it  is  thought 
best  to  have  at  least  one  of  the  regiments  commanded  by 
some  well  known  citizen  of  New  Orleans.  I  proposed 
this  idea  to  the  General,  and  he  doesn't  think  badly  of  it. 
Now  who  will  sacrifice  himself  for  his  country  ?     Who 


From     Secession    to     Loyalty.  167 

will  make  the  niggers  in  uniform  respectable?     Doctor, 
will  you  do  it  ?" 

"  Papa,  you  shall  do  no  such  thing,"  cried  Lillie,  thorough- 
ly provoked.  Then,  reproachfully,  "  Oh,  Colonel  Car- 
ter !"  The  Colonel  laughed  with  immovable  good  humor, 
and   surveyed    her    pretty  wrath  with  calm  admiration. 

"  Be  quiet,  my  child,"  pronounced  the  Doctor  with  an 
unusual  toije  of  authority.  "  Colonel,  I  am  interested, 
exceedingly  interested  m  what  you  tell  me.  The  idea  is 
admirable.  It  will  be  a  lasting  honor  to  the  man  who  con- 
ceived it." 

"  Oh,  papa  !"  protested  Lillie.  She  was  slightly  union- 
ized, but  not  in  the  least  abolitionized. 

"I  am  delighted  that  General  Butler  has  resolved  to 
take  the  resnonsibility  of  it,"  continued  the  Doctor.  "  Our 
free  negroes  are  really  a  respectable  class.  Many  of  them 
are  wealthy  and  well  educated.  In  the  whole  south  Gen- 
eral Butler  could  not  have  found  another  so  favorable  a 
place  to  try  this  experiment  as  Xew  Orleans." 

"  I  am  glad  you  think  so,"  answered  the  Colonel ;  but 
he  said  it  with  an  air  of  no  great  enthusiasm.  In  fact  how 
could  an  old  army  officer,  a  West  Point  military  Brahmin 
and  a  Virginian  gentleman  look  with  favor  at  first  sight 
on  the  plan  of  raising  nigger  regiments  ? 

"But  as  for  the  colonelcy,"  contmued  the  Doctor. 
"  Are  you  positively  serious  in  making  me  that  proposi- 
tion ?" 

"Positively." 

"  Why,  I  am  no  more  fit  to  be  a  Colonel  than  I  am  to 
be  a  professor  of  Sanscrit  and  Chinese  literature." 

"  That  need'nt  stand  in  the  way  at  all.  That  is  of  no 
consequence." 

Ravenel  laughed  outright,  and  waited  for  an  explan- 
ation. 

"  Your  Lieutenant-Colonel  and  Major  Avill  be  experienced 
officers— that  is,  for  volunteers,"  said  Carter.  "  They  will 
know   the  drill,  at  any  rate.     Your  part  will  be  simply  to 


168         Miss     R  a  v  e  n  e  l  '  s     C  o  n  v  e  r  s  i  o  x 

give  the  thing  a  local  coloring,  as  if  the  New  Orleans 
people  had  got  it  up  among  themselves." 

Here  he  burst  into  a  horse-laugh  at  the  idea  of  saddling 
Louisianians  with  the  imputation  of  desiring  and  raising 
nigger  soldiers  for  putting  down  the  rebellion  and  slavery. 

^' You  TV-ill  have  nothing  to  do  with  the  regiment,"  he 
went  on.  As  soon  as  it  is  organized,  or  under  way,  you 
will  be  detached.  You  will  be  superintendent  gf  negro  ed- 
ucation, or  superintendent  of  negro  labor,  or  something  of 
that  sort.  You  will  have  the  rank  and  pay  of  Colonel, 
you  see  ;  but  your  work  will  be  civil  instead  of  military  ; 
it  will  be  for  the  benefit  of  the  niggers." 

"  Oh,  indeed !"  answered  the  Doctor,  his  face  for  the 
first  time  showing  that  the  proposition  had  for  him  a  pole 
of  attraction.  "  So  officers  can  be  detached  for  such  f>ur- 
poses  ?     It  is  perfectly  honorable,  is  it  ?" 

"  Quite  so.  Army  custom.  About  the  same  thing  as 
making  an  officer  a  provost-marshal,  or  military  governor, 
or  mayor." 

"  Really,  I  am  vastly  tempted.  I  am  vastly  flattered 
and  very  grateful.  I  must  think  of  it.  I  will  consider  it 
seriously." 

In  his  philanthropic  excitement  he  rose  and  walked  the 
room  for  some  minutes.  The  windows  were  open  and  ad- 
mitted what  little  noise  of  population  there  was  in  the 
street,  so  that  Miss  Ravenel  and  the  Colonel,  sitting  near 
each  other,  could  exchange  a  few  words  without  being 
overheard  by  the  abstracted  Doctor.  I  suspect  that  the 
young  lady  was  more  angry  at  this  moment  than  on  any 
previous  occasion  recorded  in  the  present  history.  Col- 
burne  would  have  quailed  before  her  evident  excitement, 
but  Colonel  Carter,  the  widower,  faced  her  with  a  smile  of 
good-natured  amusement.  Seeuig  that  there  was  no  pros- 
pect of  striking  a  panic  iuto  the  foe,  she  made  a  flanking 
movement  instead  of  a  direct  attack. 

"  What  do  you  suppose  the  old  army  will  think  of  the 
negro  regiment  plan  ?" 


F  E  o :m     S  e c e  s  s  I  o X     to     Loyalty.       169 

"  Vin  ordinaire^  I  suiDpose." 

"  Then  how  cBi  you  advise  my  father  to  go  into  a  thing 
which  you  call  vin  ordinaire  P"  she  demanded,  her  lips 
trembling  with  an  agitation  which  was  partly  anger,  and 
partly  alarm  at  her  own  audacity. 

As  this  was  a  question  which  Carter  could  not  answer 
satisfactorily  without  telling  her  that  he  knew  how  poor 
her  father  was,  and  also  knew  what  a  bad  thing  poverty 
was,  he  made  no  reply,  but  rose  and  sauntered  about  the 
room  with  his  thumbs  in  his  vest  pockets.  And  Lillie 
was  so  curiously  m  awe  of  this  mature  man,  who  said 
what  he  pleased  and  was  silent  when  he  pleased,  that  she 
made  no  further  assault  on  him. 

"  I  must  confess,"  said  the  Doctor,  resuming  his  seat, 
"  that  this  is.  a  most  attractive  and  flattering  proposition. 
I  am  vain  enough  to  believe  that  I  could  be  of  use  to 
this  poor,  ignorant,  brutish,  down-trodden,  insulted,  plun- 
dered race  of  pariahs  and  helots.  If  I  could  organize  ne- 
gro labor  in  Louisiana  on  a  basis  just  and  profitable  to  all 
parties,  I  should  consider  myself  more  honored  than  by 
being  made  President  of  the  United  States  in  ordinary 
times.  If  I  could  be  the  means  of  educating  their  dark- 
ened minds  and  consciences  to  a  decent  degree  of  Christian 
intelligence  and  virtue,  I  would  not  exchange  my  good 
name  for  that  of  a  Paul  or  an  ApoUos.  My  only  objection 
to  this  present  2)lan  is  the  colonelcy.  I  should  be  in  a 
false  position.  I  should  feel  myself  to  be  ridiculous.  !N'ot ' 
that  it  is  ridiculous  to  be  a  colonel,"  he  explained,  smiling, 
"  but  to  wear  the  uniform  and  receive  the  pay  of  a  colonel 
without  being  one — there  is  the  satire.  Xow  could  not 
that  point  be  evaded?  Could  I  not  be  made  superintendent 
of  negro  labor  without  being  burdened  with  the  military 
dignity  ?  I  really  feel  some  conscientious  scruples  on 
the  matter,  quite  aside  from  my  desire  not  to  appear  al)- 
surd.  I  should  be  willing  to  do  the  work  for  less  pay, 
provided  I  could  escape  the  livery.  I  am  sorry  to  give 
you   any  trouble  when  I  am  already  under  such  obhga 

H 


ITO         Miss     Raven  el's     Conversion 

tions.  But  would  you  have  the  kindness  to  inquire 
whether  this  superintendency  could  n^  be  established 
without  attaching  to  it  the  military  position  ?" 

"  Certainly.  But  I  foresee  a  difficulty.  Will  the  Gene- 
ral dare  to  found  such  an  office,  and  set  aside  public 
money  for  its  salary  ?  I  suppose  he  has  no  legal  right  toj 
do  it.  Detach  an  officer  for  the  purpose — that  is  all  very 
simple  and  allowable ;  it's  army  fashion.  But  when  it 
comes  to  founding  new  civil  offices,  you  trench  upon 
State  or  Federal  authority.  Besides,  this  superintendency 
of  negro  labor  is  going  to  be  a  heavy  thmg,  and  the  Gene- 
i"al  may  want  to  keep  it  directly  under  his  own  thumb,  as 
lie  can  do  if  the  superintendent  is  an  army  officer.  How- 
ever, I  will  ask  your  question.  And,  if  the  civil  office 
can  be  founded,  you  will  accept  it ;  is  it  not  so  ?" 

"  I  do  accept.     Most  gratefully,  most  proudly." 

"  But  how  if  the  supermtendency  can't  be  had  without 
the  colonelcy  ?" 

"  Why,  then  I — T  fear  I  shall  be  forced  to  decline.  I 
really  don't  feel  that  I  can  j^lace  myself  in  a  false  position. 
Only  don't  suppose  that  I  am  unconscious  of  my  profound 
obligations  to  you." 

"  What  an  old  trump  of  a  Don  Quixote  !"  mused  the 
Colonel  as  he  lit  his  segar  in  the  street  for  the  walk  home- 
ward. "  It's  devilish  handsome  conduct  in  him ;  but,  by 
Jove !  I  don't  believe  the  old  fellow  can  aiiord  it.  I'm 
afraid  it  will  be  up-hill  work  for  him  to  get  a  decent  living 
in  this  wicked  world,  however  he  may  succeed  in  the 
next." 

A  few  mmutes  later  a  cold  chill  of  worldly  wisdom 
struck  through  his  enthusiasm. 

"  He  hasn't  starved  long  enough  to  biing  him  to  his 
milk,"  he  thought.  "  When  he  gets  down  to  his  last  dol- 
lar, and  a  thousand  or  two  below  it,  he  won't  be  so  par- 
ticular as  to  how  he  lines  his  pockets." 

The  Colonel  almost  felt  that  a  civilian  had  no  right  to 
such  a  delicate  and  costly  sense  of  honor.     He  would  have 


From    Secessiox    to     Loyalty. 


171 


been  rather  glad  to  have  the  Doctor  enter  into  some  of 
these  schemes  for  getting  money,  inasmuch  as  this  same 
filthy  lucre  was  all  that  Miss  Ravenel  needed  to  make  her 
•      a  very  attractive  partie.     The  next  day  he  repaired  at  the 
easiest  office  hours  to  head-quarters,  and  j^lead  earnestly 
to  have  the  proposed  superintendency  founded  on  the  ba- 
sis of  a  civil  office,  the  salary  to  be  furnished  by  the  State 
or  by  the  city,  or  by  a  per-centage  levied  on  the  wa-es  of 
the  negroes.     But  the  Proconsul  did  not  like  to  assume 
8uch  a  responsibility,  and  moreover  would  not  sympathise 
7       ^^^/^^^to^-'s  fastidiousness  on  the  subject  of  the  uni- 
torm.     The  Colonel  hurried  back  to  Ravenel  and  uro-ed 
him  to  accept  the  military  appomtment.     He  repeated"  to 
him,  ^^  Remember,  this  is  a  matter  of  twenty-six  hundred  a 
y^r,    with  a  pertmacity  which  was  the  same  as  to  say 
ifou  know  that  you  cannot  afford  to  refuse  such  a  sala- 
vj.       IheDoctordid  not  dispute  the  correctness  of  the 
msmuation,  but  persisted  with  smiling  obstinacy  in   de- 
clinmg  the  eagles.     lam  inclmed  to  thmk  that  he  was 
•somewhat  unreasonable  on  the  subject,  and  that  the  Colo- 
nel was  not  far  froni  right  in  bemg  secretly  a  little  angry 
with  him.    The  latter  did  not  care  a  straw  for  the  mcr.l/, 

\Z       ^  (T  '''''  ^""^  ^'  ^^""'^^  *^^*  ^  supermtendenf  of 
colored  labor  would  infallibly  be  tempted  by  very  consid- 
erable side  earnmgs  and   perquisites.     Even   Miss  Lillie 
was  rather  disappomted  at  the  failure  of  the  project      To 
arm  negroes    to  command  a  colored  regiment    was  aboli- 
tionistic  and  abommable ;  but  to  set  the  sam^  negroes  to 
work   on   a   hundred  plantations,   would  be  plafmo-   the 
southerner,  the  planter,  the  sugar  aristocrat,  o!i  a^ma^nrfi! 
cent  scale  ,^  and  she  thought  also  that  in  thii  busmess"  her 
^ither  might  do  CYcr  so  much  good,  and  make  for  himself 
a  noble  name  m  Lomsiana,  by  restormg  thousands  of  run- 
away field-hands  to  their  lawful  owner!      Let  us  not  be 
too  severe  upon  the  barbarian  beliefs  of  this  civilized  youn^ 
lady.     She  had  not  the  same  geographical  reasons  for  lov° 


172  Miss     Ravexel's     Goxversiox 

ing  human  liberty  in  the  abstract  that  we  have  who  were 
nurtured  in  the  truly  free  and  democratic  North.  Moreo- 
ver, for  some  reason  which  I  shall  not  trouble  myself  to 
discover,  all  women  love  aristocracies. 

The  Eavenei  funds  were  getting  low,  and  the  Doctor, 
despairing  of  finding  profitable  occupation  in  depopulated 
New  Orleans,  was  thinking  seriously  of  returnmg  to  Xew 
Boston,  when  High  Authority  sent  him  an  appomtment  as 
superintendent  of  a  city  hospital,  with  a  salary  of  fifteen 
hundred  dollars. 

"I  can  do  that,"  he  said  jubilantly  as  he  showed  the  ap- 
pointment to  Carter,  unaware  that  the  latter  had  been  the 
means  of  obtaining  it.  "  My  medical  education  will  come 
in  i^lay  there,  and  I  shall  feel  that  I  am  acting  in  my  own 
character.  It  will  not  be  so  grand  a  field  of  usefulness  as 
that  which  you  so  kindly  offered  me,  but  it  will  perhaps 
approximate  more  nearly  to  my  abilities." 

"  It  is  a  captain's  pay  instead  of  a  colonel's,"  laughed 
Carter.  "  I  don't  know  any  body  who  would  make  such 
a  choice  except  you  and  young  Colburne,  who  supposes 
that  he  isn't  fit  to  be  a  field  ofiicer.  Some  day  head-quar- 
ters will  perhaps  be  able  to  do  better  by  you.  When  the 
Western  Railroad  is  recovered — the  railroad  in  which  you 
hold  property — there  will  be  the  suj^erintendency  of  that, 
probably  a  matter  of  some  three  or  four  thousand  dollars 
a  year." 

'"  But  I  couldn't  do  it,"  objected  the  Doctor,  thereby 
drawing  another  laugh  from  his  interlocutor. 

He  was  perfectly  satisfied  with  his  fifteen  hundred, 
although  it  was  so  miserably  inferior  to  the  annual  six 
thousand  which  he  used  to  draw  from  his  scientific  labors 
in  and  out  of  the  defunct  college.  As  long  as  he  could 
live  and  retain  his  self-respect,  he  was  not  much  disposed 
to  grumble  at  Providence.  Things  in  general  were  going 
well ;  the  rebellion  would  be  put  down ;  slavery  would 
perish  in  the  struggle;  truth  and  justice  would  prevail. 
The  certainty  of  these  results  formed  in  his  estimation  a 


From     Secession     to     Loyalty.        173 

part  of  his  personal  estate — a  wealth  which  was  mvisihle^ 
it  is  true,  but  none  the  less  real,  inexhaustible  and  consola- 
tory— a  wealth  which  was  sufficient  to  enrich  and  ennoble 
every  true-hearted  American  citizen. 

When  it  was  known  throughout  the  city  that  he  had 
accepted  a  position  from  the  Federal  authorities,  the  name 
of  Ravenel  became  entirely  hateful  to  those  who  only  a 
few  years  before  accorded  it  their  friendship  and  respect. 
The  hostile  gulf  between  Lillie  and  her  old  friends  yawned 
mto  such  a  vast  abyss,  that  few  words  were  ever  ex- 
changed across  it ;  and  even  those  that  did  occasionally 
reach  her  anxious  ears  had  a  tone  of  anger  which  excited, 
sometimes  her  grief,  and  sometimes  her  resentment.  The 
young  lady's  character  was  such  that  the  resentment 
steadily  gamed  on  the  grief,  and  she  became  from  day  to 
day  less  of  a  Secessionist  and  more  of  a  Unionist.  Her 
father  laughed  in  his  good-natured  way  to  see  how  spited 
she  was  by  this  social  ostracism. 

"  You  should  never  quarrel  with  a  pig  because  he  is  a 
pig,"  said  he.  "  The  only  wise  way  is  not  to  suppose  that 
you  can  make  a  lap-dog  of  hun,  and  not  to  invite  him  mto 
your  parlor.  These  j)oor  people  have  been  brought  up  to 
hate  and  maltreat  every  body  who  does  not  agree  with 
their  opmions.  If  the  Apostle  Paul  should  come  here, 
they  would  knock  him  on  the  head  for  making  a  brother 
of  Onesimus." 

"  But  I  can't  bear  to  be  treated  so,"  answered  the  vexed 
young  lady.  "  I  don't  want  to  be  knocked  on  the  head, 
nor  to  have  you  knocked  on  the  head.  I  don't  even  want 
them  to  thuik  what  they  do  about  me.  I  wish  I  had  the 
supreme  power  for  a  day  or  tAvo." 

"  What  progress  !"  observed  the  Doctor.  "  She  wants 
to  be  General  Butler." 

"  N^o  I  don't,"  snapped  Lillie,  whose  nerves  were  indeed 
much  worried  by  her  internal  struggles  and  outward 
trials.     "  But  I  would  like  to  be  emperor.     I  would  actu- 


174        Miss    Ravexel's     Conversion 

ally  enjoy  forcing  some  of  these  horrid  people  to  change 
their  style  of  talking." 

"  I  don't  think  you  would  enjoy  it,  my  dear.  I  did  once 
entertain  the  design  of  making  myself  autocrat,  and  de- 
ciding what  should  be  believed  by  my  fellow  citizens,  and 
bringing  to  deserved  punishment  such  as  differed  from 
me.  It  would  be  such  a  fine  thmg,  I  thought,  to  manage 
in  my  own  way,  and  manage  right,  all  the  religion,  j^oli- 
tics,  business,  education,  and  conscience  of  the  country. 
But  I  dropped  the  plan,  after  mature  consideration,  be- 
cause I  foresaw  that  it  would  give  me  more  to  do  than  I 
could  attend  to." 

Lillie,  working  at  her  embroidery,  made  no  reply,  not 
apparently  appreciating  her  father's  wit.  Presently  she 
gave  token  that  the  current  of  her  thoughts  had  changed, 
by  breaking  out  with  her  usual  routine  of  questions. 
"  Who  did  you  see  in  the  streets  ?  Didn't  you  see  any 
body  ?     Didn't  you  hear  any  thing  ?"  etc.  etc. 

By  what  has  been  related  in  this  chapter  it  will  be  per- 
ceived that  Colonel  Carter  has  established  a  claim  to  be 
received  witli  at  least  courtesy  in  the  house  of  the  Raven- 
els.  The  Doctor  could  not  decently  turn  a  cold  shoulder 
to  a  man  who  had  been  so  zealous  a  friend,  although  he 
still  admired  him  very  little,  and  never  willingly  permitted 
him  a  moment's  un watched  intercourse  with  Lillie.  He 
occasionally  thought  with  disgust  of  Yan  Zandt's  leering 
insinuations  concerning  the  little  French  boudoir ;  but  he 
charitably  concluded  that  he  ought  not  to  attach  much 
importance  to  the  prattle  of  a  man  so  clearly  under  the 
influence  of  liquor  as  was  that  person  at  Colburne's  quar- 
ters ;  and  finallv  he  reflected  with  a  sig:h  that  the  boudoir 
busmess  was  awfully  common  in  the  world  as  then  consti- 
tuted, and  that  men  who  were  engaged  in  it  could  not 
well  be  ostracised  from  society.  So  outwardly  he  was 
civil  to  the  Colonel,  and  inwardly  sought  to  control  his 
almost  instinctive  repugnance.  As  for  Lillie,  she  positively 
liked  the  widower,  and  thought  him  the  finest  gentleman 


From     Secession    to     Loyalty.       175 

of  the  very  few  who  now  called  on  her.  Captam  Col- 
burne  was  very  pleasant,  lively  and  good  ;  but— and  here 
she  cea^^ed  to  reason— she  felt  that  he  was  not  magnetic. 


CHAPTER  XIII. 

THE  COURSE  OF  TRUE  LOVE  BEGINS  TO  RUN  ROUGH. 

Ix  some  Arabian  Nights  or  other,  there  is  a  story  of 
voyagers  in  a  becalmed  ship  who  were  drifted  by  irresist- 
ible c'lirrents  towards  an  unknown  island.  As  they  gazed 
at  it  theii'  eyes  were  deceived  by  an  enchantment  m  the 
atmosphere,  so  that  they  seemed  to  see  upon  the  shore  a 
number  of  beautiful  women  waiting  to  welcome  them, 
whereas  these  expectant  figures  were  really  nothmg  but 
hideous  apes  with  carniverous  appetites,  whose  desire  it 
was  to  devour  the  approaching  strangers. 

As  Miss  Ravenel  drifted  towards  Colonel  Carter  she  be- 
held him  in  the  guise  of  a  pure  and  noble  creature,  while 
in  truth  he  was  a  more  than  commonly  demoralized  man, 
with  potent  capacities  for  injurmg  others.  Mrs.  Larue,  on 
the  other  hand,  perceived  him  much  as  he  was,  and  liked 
him  none  the  less  for  it.  Had  she  lived  in  the  days  before 
the  flood  she  would  not  have  cared  specially  for  the  angels 
who  came  down  to  enjoy  themselves  with  the  daughters 
of  men,  except  just  so  far  as  they  satisfied  her  vanity  and 
curiosity.  Seemg  clearly  that  the  Colonel  was  not  a  ser- 
aph, but  a  creature  of  far  lower  grade,  very  coarse  and 
carnal  in  some  at  least  of  his  dispositions,  she  would  still 
have  been  pleased  to  have  him  fall  m  love  with  her,  and 
would  perhaps  have  accepted  him  as  a  husband.  It  is  pro- 
bable that  she  did  not  have  a  suspicion  of  the  glamour 
which  humbugged  the  innocent  eyes  of  her  youthful  cous- 
in. But  she  did  presently  perceive  that  it  would  be  Lil- 
lie   and  not  herself,  who  would  receive  Carter's  offer  of 


176         Miss    Ravenel's     Conveksion 

mamagc,  if  it  was  ever  made  to  either.  How  should  she 
behave  under  these  trymg  circumstances  ?  Pauiful  as  the 
discovery  may  have*  been  to  her  vanity,  it  had  little  effect 
on  a  temper  so  callously  amiable,  and  none  on  the  lucid 
wisdom  of  a  spirit  so  clarified  by  selfishness.  She  !^howed 
that  she  was  a  person  of  good  worldly  sense,  and  of  little 
heart.  She  soon  brought  herself  to  encourage  the  Carter 
flirtation,  partly  because  she  had  a  woman's  passion  for 
seeing  such  things  move  on,  and  partly  for  reasons  of 
state.  If  the  Colonel  married  Lillie  he  would  be  a  valua- 
ble friend  at  court ;  moreover  the  match  could  not  hurt 
the  social  position  of  her  relatives,  who  were  ostracised  as 
Yankees  already  ;  it  would  be  all  gam  and  no  loss.  She 
soon  discovered,  as  she  thought,  that  there  was  no  need 
of  blowing  the  Colonel's  trumpet  in  the  ears  of  Miss  Lil- 
lie, and  that  the  young  lady  could  be  easily  brought  to 
greet  him  with  a  betrothal  hymn  of,  "  Hail  to  the  chief  who 
in  triumph  advances."  But  the  Doctor,  who  evidently  did 
not  like  the  Colonel,  might  exercise  a  deleterious  influence 
on  these  fine  chances.  Madame  Larue  must  try  to  lead 
the  silly  old  gentleman  to  take  a  reasonable  look  at  his 
own  mterests.  What  a  paroxysm  of  vexation  and  (Con- 
tempt she  would  have  gone  into,  had  she  known  of  his 
refusal  to  make  forty  or  fifty  thousand  dollars  on  sugar, 
merely  because  the  transaction  might  furnish  the  Confeder- 
ate army  witli  salt  and  quinine  !  Xot  bemg  aware  of  this 
act  of  cretinism,  she  vreht  at  him  on  the  marriage  busines«; 
with  a  hopeful  spirit. 

"  "What  an  admirable  parti  for  some  of  our  Xew  Orleans 
young  ladies  would  be  the  Colonel  Carter  I" 

The  Doctor  smiled  and  bowed  his  assent,  because  such 
was  his  habit  concerning  all  matters  whicli  were  indifler- 
ent  to  him.  The  fact  that  he  had  lived  twenty-five  years 
in  Xew  Orleans  without  ever  being  driven  to  fight  a  duel, 
although  disagreemg  with  its  fiery  population  on  various 
touchy  subjects,  shows  what  an  exquisite  courtesy  he  must 
have  maintained  in  his  manners  and  conversation. 


From     Secession    to     Loyalty  177 

"  I  must  positively  introduce  Mm  to  jNIees  Langdon  or 
jMees  Dumas,  aud  see  what  will  come  of  it,"  i^ursued  Ma- 
dame. 

Ravenel  professed  and  looked  his  delight  at  the  propos- 
ition, without  carmg  a  straw  for  the  subject,  being  en- 
o;aged  in  a  charming  mineralogical  revcry.  Mrs.  Larue 
perceived  his  indifference  and  was  annoyed  by  it,  but  con- 
tmued  to  smile  with  the  Indian-like  fortitude  of  a  veteran 
worldling. 

"  He  is  of  an  excellent  family— one  of  the  best  families 
of  Virginia.  He  would  be  a  suitable  parti  for  any  young 
lady  of  my  acquamtance.  There  is  no  doubt  that  he  has 
splendid  prospects.  He  is  almost  the  only  regular  officer 
in  the  department.  Of  course  he  will  win  promotion.  I 
should  not  be  surprised  to  see  him  supersede  Picayime 
Butler.  I  beg  your  pardon — I  mean  ::Major-General  But- 
ler. I  hear  him*^  so  constantly  called  Picayune  that  I  feel 
as  if  that  was  his  name  of  baptism.  Mark  my  prophecy 
now.  In  a  year  that  man  will  be  superseded  by  Colonel 
Carter." 

"  It  might  be  a  change  for  the  better,"  admitted  the 
Doctor  with  the  composure  of  a  Gallio. 

"  The  Colonel  has  a  large  salary,"  continued  Madame. 
"  The  mayoralty  gives  him  three  thousand,  and  his  pay  as 
colonel  is  two  thousand  six  hundred.  Five  thousand  six 
hundred  dollars  seems  a  monstrous  salary  in  these  days 
of  poverty." 

"  It  does,  indeed,"  coincided  the  Doctor,  remembering 
his  own  fifteen  hundred,  with  a  momentary  dread  that  it 
would  hardly  keep  him  out  of  debt. 

Mrs.  Larue  paused  and  considered  whether  she  should 
venture  further.  She  had  already  got  as  far  as  this  two 
or  three  times  without  eliciting  from  her  brother-in-law  a 
word  good  or  bad  as  to  the  matter  which  she  had  at  heart. 
She  had  been  like  a  boy  who  walks  two  miles  to  a  pond, 
puts  on  his  skates,  looks  at  the  thinly  frozen  surface,  shakes 
his  doubtful  head,  unbuckles  his  skates  aud  trudges  home 
H2 


178  Mis.s     Raven  el's     Conveksiox 

again.  She  resolved  to  try  the  ice  this  time,  at  no  matter 
what  risk  of  breaking  it. 

"I  have  been  thinking  that  he  would  not  be  a  hsidjxirti 
for  my  little  cousin." 

The  Doctor  laid  aside  his  Robinsonites  in  some  quiet 
corner  of  his  mind,  and  devoted  himself  to  the  subject  of 
the  conversation,  leaning  forward  and  surveying  Madame 
earnestly  through  his  spectacles. 

"  I  would  almost  rather  bury  her,"  he  said  in  his  excite- 
ment. 

"You  amaze  me.  There  is  a  difference  in  age,  I  grant. 
But  how  little  !  He  is  still  what  we  call  a  young  man. 
And  then  marriages  are  so  difficult  to  make  up  in  these 
horrible  times.     AVho  else  is  there  in  all  Xew  Orleans  ?" 

"  I  don't  see  why  she  should  marry  at  all,"  said  the  Doc- 
tor very  warmly.  "  Why  can't  she  contiinie  to  live  with 
me?" 

"  Positively  you  are  not  serious." 

"  I  certainly  am.  I  beg  pardon  for  disagreeing  with 
you,  but  I  don't  see  why  I  shouldn't  entertain  the  idea  I 
mention." 

"  Oh  !  when  it  comes  to  that,  there  is  no  arguing.  Tou 
step  out  of  the  bounds  of  reason  into  j^ure  feeling  and 
egoisme.  I  also  beg  your  pardon,  but  I  must  tell  you  that 
you  are  egolste.  To  forbid  a  girl  to  marry  is  like  forbid- 
ding a  young  man  to  engage  in  business,  to  work,  to  open 
his  own  car  Here.  A  woman  who  must  not  love  is  de- 
frauded of  her  best  rights." 

"  Why  can't  she  be  satisfied  with  lovmg  me  ?"  de- 
manded the  Doctor.  He  knew  that  he  was  talkmg  irra- 
tionally on  this  subject ;  but  what  he  meant  to  say  was, 
"  I  don't  like  Colonel  Carter." 

"  Because  that  would  leave  her  an  unhappy,  sickly  old 
maid,"  retorted  Madame.  "  Because  that  would  leave  you 
without  grandchildren." 

Ravenel  rose  and  walked  the  room  with  a  melancholy 
step    and    a   coimtenance   full    of  trouble.     Suddenly  he 


From    Secession    to    Loyalty.  179 

stopped  sliort  and  turned  upon  Mrs.  Larue  a  look  of  anxious 
inquiiy. 

"  I  hope  you  have  not  observed  in  Lillie  any  inclination 
towards  this — this  idea." 

"  Not  the  slightest,"  replied  Madame,  lying  frankly,  and 
without  the  slightest  hesitation  or  confusion. 

"  And  you  have  not  broached  it  to  her  ?" 

"  Never !"  affirmed  the  lady  solemnly,  which  was 
another  whopper. 

"  I  sincerely  hope  that  you  will  not.  Oblige  me,  I  beg 
you,  by  promising  that  you  will  not." 

"  If  such  is  your  pleasure,"  sighed  Madame.  "  Well — I 
promise." 

"  I  am  so  much  obliged  to  you,"  said  the  Doctor. 

"  I  know  that  there  is  a  diflerence  in  age,"  Mrs.  Larue 
recommenced,  thereby  insinuatmg  that  that  was  the  only 
objection  to  the  match  that  she  could  imagine :  but  her 
brother-in-law  solemnly  shook  his  head,  as  if  to  say  that 
he  had  other  reasons  for  opposition  compared  with  which 
this  was  a  trifle  :  and  so,  after  taking  a  sharp  look  at  him, 
she  judged  it  wise  to  drop  the  subject. 

"  I  hope,"  concluded  the  Doctor,  "  that  hereafter,  when 
I  am  away,  you  will  allow  Lillie  to  receive  calls  in  your 
house.  There  is  a  back  passage.  It  is  neither  quite  deco- 
rous to  receive  gentlemen  alone  here,  nor  to  send  them 
away." 

Mrs.  Larue  made  no  objection  to  this  plan,  seeing  that 
she  could  be  just  as  strict  or  just  as  careless  a  duenna  as 
she  chose. 

"  I  wonder  why  he  has  such  an  aversion  to  the  match," 
she  thought.  Accustomed  to  see  men  matured  m  vice 
lead  innocent  young  girls  to  the  altar,  habituated  to  look 
upon  the  notoriously  pure-minded  Doctor  as  a  social  curi- 
osity rather  than  a  social  standard,  she  scarcely  guessed, 
and  could  not  realize,  the  repugnance  with  which  such  a 
father  would  resign  a  daughter  to  the  doubtful  protection 


180         Miss     Raven  el's     Conveksiox 

of  a  Imsband  cnoscn  from  tlie  class  known  as  men  about 
town. 

"  Aurait  il  decouvcrt,"  slie  continued  to  meditate  ;  "  ce 
petit  liaison  de  monsieur  le  colonel?  II  est  vraiment 
curieux  mon  beau  -  frere ;  c'est  plutot  une  vierge  qu'un 
homme." 

I  beg  the  reader  not  to  do  this  clever  lady  the  injustice 
to  sup2)0se  that  she  kept  or  ever  intended  to  keep  her 
promise  to  the  Doctor.  To  him,  indeed,  she  did  not  for  a 
long  time  speak  of  the  j^Ji'oposed  marriage,  intending  there- 
by to  lull  his  suspicions  to  sleep,  and  thus  prevent  him 
from  offering  any  timely  opposition  to  that  natural  course 
of  human  events  which  might  alone  suffice  to  bring 
about  the  desired  end.  But  into  Lillie's  ears  she  perpetu- 
ally whispered  pleasant  things  concerning  Carter,  besides 
leaving  the  two  alone  together  for  ten,  fifteen,  twenty 
minutes  at  a  time,  until  Lillie  would  get  alarmed  at  her 
unusual  position,  and  become  either  nervously  silent  or 
nervously  talkative.  For  these  services  the  Colonel  was 
not  as  grateful  as  he  should  have  been.  He  was  just  the 
man  to  believe  that  he  could  make  his  own  way  in  a  love 
affair,  and  need  not  burden  himself  with  a  sense  of  obliga- 
tion for  any  one's  assistance.  IMoreover,  valuing  himself 
on  his  knowledge  of  life,  he  thought  that  he  understood 
Mrs.  Larue's  character  perfectly,  and  declared  that  he  was 
not  the  man  to  be  managed  by  such  an  intriguante,  how 
ever  knowing.  He  did  in  fact  perceive  that  she  was  cor- 
rupt, and  by  the  way  he  liked  her  none  the  worse  for  it, 
although  he  would  not  have  married  her.  To  Colburne  he 
spoke  of  her  gaily  and  conceitedly  as  "  the  Larue,"  or 
sometimes  as  "  La  rouee,"  for  he  knew  French  Avell  enough 
to  make. an  occasional  bad  pun  in  it.  The  Captam,  on  the 
other  hand,  never  mentioned  her  except  respectfully,  feel- 
ing himself  bound  to  treat  any  relative  of  Miss  Ravenel 
with  perfect  courtesy. 

But  while  Carter  supposed  that  he  comprehended  the 
Larue,  he  walked  in  the  path  which  she  had  traced  out 


F E o :m     Secession     to     L  o  y  a  l t  v .         i si 

for  him.  From  week  to  week  he  found  it  more  agreeable 
to  be  with  Miss  Ravenel.  Those  random  tete-a-tetes 
which  to  her  were  so  alarming,  were  to  him  so  pleasant 
that  he  caught  himself  anticipatmg  them  with  anxiety. 
The  Colonehmight  have  known  from  his  past  experience, 
he  might  have  known  by  only  looking  at  his  high-colored 
face  and  j^owerful  frame  in  a  mirror,  that  it  was  not  a  safe 
amusement  for  him  to  be  so  much  with  one  charming  la- 
dy. Self-j^ossessed  in  his  demeanor,  and,  like  most  roues, 
tolerably  cool  for  a  little  distance  below  the  surface  of  his 
feelings,  he  was  at  bottom  and  by  the  decree  of  imperious 
nature,  very  volcanic.  As  we  say  of  some  fiery  wmes, 
there  was  a  great  deal  of  body  to  him.  At  this  time  he 
was  determined  not  to  fall  hi  love.  He  remembered  how 
he  had  been  infatuated  m  other  days,  and  dreaded  the  re- 
turn of  the  passionate  dominion.  To  use  his  own  express- 
ion, "  he  made  such  a  blasted  fool  of  himself  when  he  once 
got  after  a  woman  !" 

Nevertheless,  he  began  to  be,  not  jealous;  he  could  not 
admit  that  very  soft  impeachment ;  but  he  began  to  want 
to  monopolize  Miss  Ravenel.  When  he  found  Colburne  in 
her  company  he  sometimes  talked  French  to  her,  thereby 
embaiTassing  and  humiliating  the  Caj)tain,  who  understood 
nothing  of  the  language  except  when  he  saw  it  in  print, 
and  could  trace  out  the  meaning  of  some  words  by  their 
resemblance  to  Latin.  The  young  lady,  either  becaase  she 
felt  for  Colbume's  awkward  position,  or  because  she  did 
not  wish  to  be  suspected  of  saying  things  which  she 
might  not  have  dared  utter  in  English,  usually  restored 
the  conversation  to  her  mother  tongue  after  a  few  senten- 
ces. Once  her  manner  in  doing  this  was  so  pomted  that 
the  Colonel  apologized. 

"  I  beg  pardon,  Captain,"  he  said,  to  which  he  added  a 
white  lie.     "  I  really  supposed  that  you  spoke  French." 

Xo ;  Colburne  did  not  speak  French,  nor  any  other  mod- 
ern language ;  he  did  not  draw,  nor  sing,  nor  play,  and 
was  in  short  as  destitute  of  accomplishments  as  are  most 


182  Miss     Ravenel's     Contersiox 

Americans.  He  blushed  at  the  Colonel's  apology,  whicli 
mortified  him  more  than  the  offence  for  which  it  was  in- 
tended to  atone.  He  would  have  given  all  his  Greek  for 
a  smattering  of  Gallic,  and  he  took  a  French  teacher  the 
next  morning. 

Anotlier  annoyance  to  Colbume  was  ]Mrs.  Larue.  He 
was  still  so  young  in  heart  matters,  or  rather  in  coquetry, 
that  he  was  troubled  by  being  made  the  object  of  airs  of 
affection  which  he  could  not  reciprocate.  I  do  not  mean 
to  say  that  the  lady  was  in  love  with  him  ;  she  never  had 
been  in  love  in  her  life,  and  was  not  going  to  begin  at 
thirtv-three.  The  plain,  placid  truth  was,  that  she  was 
wilUnf^  to  flirt  with  him  to  please  herself,  and  detennined 
to  keep  him  away  from  Lillie  in  order  to  give  every  possi- 
ble chance  to  Carter.  Only  when  Mrs.  Larue  said  "flirt," 
she  meant  indescribable  things,  such  as  ladies  may  talk  of 
without  reproach  among  themselves,  but  which,  if  intro- 
duced into  print,  are  considered  very  improper  reading. 
Meantime  neither  Carter  nor  Colburne  understood  her,  al- 
though the  former  would  have  hooted  at  the  idea  that  lie 
did  not  comprehend  the  lady  perfectly. 

"  By  Jove  !"  soliloquized  the  knowing  Colonel,  "  she  is 
sweeter  on  him  than  a  pailful  of  syrup.  She  puts  one  in 
mind  of  a  boa-constrictor.  She  is  licking  him  all  over,  pre- 
paratory to  swallowing  him.  Xot  a  bad  sort  of  serpent 
to  have*  around  one,  either,"  pursued  the  Colonel,  almost 
winking  to  himself,  so  knowing  did  he  feel.  "  Xot  a  bad 
sort  of  serpent.  Only  I  shouldn't  care  about  marrying 
her." 

Lideed  the  Colonel  reminds  one  a  little  of  "  devilish  sly 
old  Joey  Bagstock." 

The  innocent  Colbume  acknowledged  to  himself  that  he 
did  not  comprehend  Mrs.  Larue  nor  her  purposes.  He 
would  have  inferred  from  her  ways  that  she  Avanted  him 
for  a  husband,  only  that  she  spoke  in  a  very  cool  way  of 
the  matrimonial  state. 

"  Marriage  will  not  content  me,  nor  will  single  lite,"  she 


From     Secess-ton    to     Loyalty.         183 

said  to  him  one  day.  "  I  have  tried  both,  and  I  cannot 
recommend  either.  It  is  a  choice  between  two  evils,  and 
one  does  not  know  to  say  which  is  the  least." 

Widows  in  search  of  second  husbands  do  not  talk  pub- 
licly in  this  style,  and  Colburne  intelligently  concluded 
that  ^e  was  not  to  be  invited  to  the  altar.  At  the  same 
time  Mrs.  Larue  went  on  In'this  way,  she  treated  him  to 
certam  appetizmg  little  movements,  glances  and  words, 
which  led  him  to  suspect  with  some  vague  alarm  that  she 
did  not  mean  to  let  him  off  as  a  mere  acquaintance.  Final- 
ly, as  is  supposed,  an  explanation  ensued  which  was  not 
to  his  liking.  There  was  an  interview  of  half  an  hour  in  a 
back  parlor,  brought  about  by  the  graceful  manoeuvres  of 
the  lady,  of  which  Colburne  steadily  refused  to  reveal  the 
secrets,  although  straitly  questioned  by  the  fun-loving 
Colonel. 

"  By  Jove  !  he's  been  bluffing  her,"  soliloquized  Carter, 
who  thought  he  perceived  that  from  this  private  confabu- 
lation the  parties  came  forth  on  terms  of  estrangement. 
"  What  a  queer  fellow  he  is !  Suppose  he  didn't  want  to 
marry  her — he  might  amuse  himself  It  would  be  pleas- 
ant to  him,  and  wouldn't  hurt  her.  Hanged  if  he  isn't  a 
curiosity  !" 

The  next  time  that  Colburne  called  on  Miss  Ravenel  the 
Larue  took  her  revenge  for  that  mysterious  defeat,  the  par- 
ticulars of  which  I  am  unable  to  relate.  To  comprehend 
the  nature  and  efficiency  of  this  vengeance,  it  is  necessary 
to  take  a  dive  into  the  recesses  of  Xew  Orleans  society. 
There  is  a  geographical  fable  of  civilized  white  negroes  in 
the  centre  of  Africa,  somewhere  near  the  Mountains  of 
the  Moon.  This  fable  is  realized  in  the  Crescent  City  and 
m  some  of  the  richest  planting  districts  of  Louisiana, 
where  you  will  find  a  class  of  colored  people,  who  are  not 
black  people  at  all,  having  only  the  merest  fraction  of  ne- 
gro blood  in  their  veins,  and  who  are  respectable  in  char- 
acter, numbers  of  them  wealthy,  and  some  of  them  accom- 
plished.   These  Creoles,  as  they  call  themselves,  have  been 


184         Miss     R  a  v  e  x  e  l  '  s  •  C  o  x  v  e  r  s  i  o  x 

free  for  generations,  and  until  Anglo-Saxon  law  invaded 
Louisiana,  enjoyed  the  same  rights  as  other  citizens.  They 
are  good  Catholics ;  they  marry  and  are  given  in  mar- 
riage ;  their  sons  are  educated  in  Paris  on  a  perfect  level 
with  young  Frenchmen ;  their  daughters  receive  the  strict 
surveillance  which  is  allotted  to  girls  in  most  southern 
countries.  In  the  street  many  of  them  are  scarcely  dis- 
tinguishable from  the  unmixed  descendants  of  the  old 
French  planters.  But  there  is  a  social  line  of  demarkation 
drawn  about  them,  like  the  sanitary  cordon  about  an  in- 
fected district.  The  Anglo-Saxon  race,  the  proudest  race 
of  modern  times,  does  not  marry  nor  consort  with  them, 
nor  of  late  years  does  the  pure  French  Creole,  driven  to 
jom  in  this  ostracism  by  the  brute  force  of  Henghist  and 
Horsa  prejudice.  The  Xew  Orleanois  who  before  the  war 
should  have  treated  these  white  colored  people  on  terms 
of  equality,  would  have  shared  in  their  opprobrium,  and 
perhaps  have  been  ridden  on  a  rail  by  his  outraged  fellow- 
citizens  of  northern  descent. 

Xow  these  white  negroes  from  the  Mountains  of  the 
Moon  constituted  the  sole  loyal  class,  except  the  slaves, 
which  Butler  found  in  Louisiana.  They  and  their  black 
cousins  of  the  sixteenth  degree  were  the  only  people  who, 
as  a  body,  came  forward  with  joy  to  welcome  the 
drums  and  tramplings  of  the  'New  England  Division; 
and  when  the  commandmg  General  called  for  regiments  ot 
free  blacks  to  uphold  the  Stars  and  Stripes,  he  met  a  patri- 
otic response  as  enthusiastic  as  that  of  Connecticut  or  Mas- 
sachusetts. Foremost  in  this  military  uprising  were  two 
brothers  of  the  name  of  Meurice,  who  poured  out  their 
wealth  freely  to  meet  those  incidental  ex2:)enses,  never  ac- 
knowledged by  Government,  which  attend  the  recruiting 
of  volunteer  regiments.  They  gave  dinners  and  presented 
flags  ;  they  advanced  uniforms,  sabres  and  pistols  for  offi- 
cers ;  they  trusted  the  families  of  private  soldiers.  The 
youngest  Meurice  became  Major  of  one  of  the  regiments, 
which    I   take   to  be  the  nearest  approach  to  a  miracle 


Fkom-   Secession    to     LoYxVlty.  185 

ever  yet  enacted  in  the  United  States  of  America. 
Their  entertamments  became  so  famous  that  invitations  to 
them  were  gratefully  accepted  by  officers  of  Anglo-Saxon 
organizations.  At  their  profuse  yet  elegant  table,  where 
Brillat-Savarin  would  not  have  been  annoyed  by  a  badly 
cooked  dish  or  an  inferior  wine,  and  where  he  might  have 
listened  to  the  accents  of  his  own  Parisian,  Colburne  had 
met  Xew  Englanders,  Xew  Yorkers,  and  even  stray  Ma- 
rylanders  and  Kentuckians.  There  he  became  acquainted 
(ignorant  Baratarian  that  he  was  !)  with  the  tasse  de  cafe 
noil'  and  the  petit  verre  de  cognac  which,  close  a  French 
dinner.  There  he  smoked  cigars  whicli  gave  him  new 
ideas  concerning  the  value  of  Cuba.  For  these  pleasures 
he  was  now  to  suffer  at  the  Caucasian  hands  of  Madauie 
Larue. 

"  I  am  afraid  that  we  are  doomed  to  lose  you,  Captain 
Colburne,"  she  said  with  a  smile  which  expressed  some- 
thing worse  than  good-natured  raillery.  "  I  hear  that  you 
have  made  some  fascmating  acquauitauces  hi  Xew  Orleans. 
I  never  myself  had  the  pleasure  of  knowing  the  Meurices. 
They  are  very  charming,  are  they  not  ?" 

Colburne's  nerves  quivered  under  this  speech,  not  be- 
cause he  was  conscious  of  having  done  any  thing  unbe- 
commg  a  gentleman,  but  because  he  divmed  the  clever 
malice  of  tlie  "attack.  To  gentle  spirits  the  consciousness 
that  they  are  the  objects  of  spite,  is  a  dolorous  sensa- 
tion. 

"  It  is  a  very  pleasant  and  mtelligent  family,"  he  rej^lied 
bravely. 

"  Who  are  they  ?"  smilmgly  asked  Miss  Ravenel,  who 
inferred  from  her  aunt's  manner  that  Colburne  was  to  be 
charged  with  a  flirtation. 

"  Ce  sont  des  metis,  ma  chere,"  laughed  Mrs.  Larue. 
"  II  y  a  dine  plusieurs  fois.  Ces  abolitionistes  out  leur 
gonts  a  eux." 

Lillie  colored  crimson  with  amazement,  with  horror, 
with  downright  anger.     To  this  Xcav  Orleans  born  Anglo- 


186  Miss    Raven  el's    Conversion 

Saxon  girl,  full  of  the  pride  of  lineage  and  the  prejudices  of 
the  slaveholding  society  in  which  she  had  been  nurtured, 
it  seemed  a  downright  insult  that  a  gentleman  who  called 
on  her,  should  also  call  on  a  metis,  and  admit  it  and  defend 
it.  She  glanced  at  Colburne  to  see  if  he  had  a  word  to 
offer  of  aj^ology  or  explanation.  It  might  be  that  he  had 
visited  these  mixed  bloods  in  the  performance  of  some 
disagreeable  but  unavoidable  duty  as  an  officer  of  the 
Federal  army.  She  hoped  so,  for  she  liked  him  too  well  to 
be  willing  to  despise  him. 

"  Intelligent  ?  But  without  doubt,"  assented  Madame, 
"  if  they  had  been  stupid,  you  would  not  have  dmed  with 
them  four  or  five  times." 

"  Three  times,  to  be  exact,  Mrs.  Larue,"  said  Colburne. 
He  had  formed  his  Ime  of  battle,  and  could  be  not  merely 
defiant  but  ironically  aggressive.  But  the  lady  was  master 
of  the  southern  tactics;  she  had  taken  the  initiative,  and 
she  attacked  audaciously  ;  although,  I  must  explain,  with- 
out the  slightest  sign  of  irritation. 

"  Which  do  you  find  the  most  agreeable,"  she  asked, 
"  the  white  people  of  Xew  Orleans,  or  the  brown  ?" 

Colburne  was  tempted  to  reply  that  he  did  not  see  much 
difference,  but  refrained  on  account  of  Miss  Ravenel ;  and, 
dropping  satire,  he  entered  on  a  calm  defence,  less  of  him- 
self than  of  the  mixed  i*ace  in  question.  He  affirmed  their 
intelligence,  education,  good  breeding,  resijectability  of 
character,  and  exceptional  patriotism  in  a  community  of 
rebels. 

"  You,  Mrs.  Larue,  think  something  of  the  elegancies  of 
society  as  an  element  of  civilization,"  he  said.  "Now 
then,  I  am  obliged  to  confess  that  these  people  can  -give  a 
finer  dinner,  better  selected,  better  cooked,  better  served, 
than  I  ever  saw  in  my  own  city  of  New  Boston,  notwith- 
standing that  we  are  as  white  as  they  are  and — can't  speak 
French.  These  Meurices,  for  example,  have  actually  given 
me  new  ideas  of  hospitality,  as  something  which  may  be 
plenteous  without  being  coarse,  and  cordial  without  being 


Fro:m     Secessiox     to     Loyalty.         187 

boreous.  I  don't  hesitate  to  call  them  nice  people.  As 
for  the  African  blood  in' their  veins  (if  that  is  a  reproach) 
I  can't  detect  a  trace  of  it.  I  shouldn't  have  believed  it 
if  they  hadn't  assured  me  of  it.  There  is  a  little  child 
there,  a  cousin,  with  blue  eyes  and  straight  flaxen  hair. 
She  has  the  honor,  if  it  is  one,  of  being  whiter  than  I  am." 

It  will  be  remembered  here  that  any  one  who  was  waiter 
than  Colburne  was  necessarily  much  whiter  than  Mrs. 
Larue. 

"  When  I  first  saw  the  eldest  Meurice,"  he  proceeded, 
"  I  supposed  from  his  looks  that  he  was  a  German.  The 
Major  bears  a  striking  resemblance  to  the  first  Xapoleo'i, 
and  is  certainly  one  of  the  handsomest  men  that  I  have ' 
seen  in  Xe^'  Orleans.  His  manners  are  charming,  as  I 
suppose  they  ought  to  be,  seeing  that  he  has  lived  in  Paris 
since  he  was  a  child." 

Mrs.  Larue  had  never  transgressed  the  borders  of 
Louisiana. 

"  "When  this  war  broke  out  he  came  home  to  see  if  he 
might  be  permitted  to  fight  for  his  race,  and  for  his  and 
my  country.  He  now  wears  the  same  uniform  that  I  do, 
and  he  is  my  superior  ofiicer." 

"  It  is  shameful,"  broke  out  Lillie. 

"  It  is  the  will  of  authority,"  answered  Colburne, — "  of 
authority  that  I  have  sworn  to  respect." 

"  A  southern  gentleman  would  resign,"  said  Mrs.  Larue. 

"  A  northern  gentleman  keejDS  his  oath  and  stands  by 
his  flag,"  retorted  Colburne. 

Mrs.  Larue  paused,  suppressed  her  rising  excitement, 
and  with  an  exterior  air  of  meekness  considered  the  situ- 
ation. She  had  gained  her  battle  ;  she  had  wounded  and 
punished  him  ;  she  had  probably  detached  Lillie  from  him ; 
now  she  would  stop  the  conflict. 

"  I  beg  pardon,"  she  said,  looking  him  full  in  the  eyes 
with  a  charming  little  expression  of  penitence.  "  I  am 
sorry  if  I  have  annoyed  you.  I  thought,  I  hoped, 
you  might  perhaps  be  obliged  to  me  for  hinting  to  you 


188         Miss     Kavexel's     Coxveiisiox 

that  these  people  are  not  received  here  in  society.  You 
are  a  stranger,  and  do  not  know  our  prejudices.  I  pray 
you  to  excuse  me  if  I  have  been  officious." 

Colburne  was  astonished,  disarmed,  ashamed,  notwith- 
standing that  he  had  been  in  the  right  and  was  the  in- 
jured party. 

"  *Mrs.  Larue,  I  beg  your  pardon,"  he  answered.  "  I 
have  been  unnecessarily  excited.  I  sincerely  ask  you  par- 
don." 

She  accorded  it  in  pleasant  words  and  with  the  most 
amiable  of  smiles.  She  was  a  good-natured,  graceful  little 
grimalkm,  she  could  be  j^retty  and  fiestive  over  a  mouse 
while  torturing  it ;  so  purring  and  velvet-pawed,  indeed, 
that  the  mouse  himself  could  not  believe  her  to  be  in  ear- 
nest, and  prayed  to  be  excused  for  turnmg  upon  her.'  It 
is  probable  that,  not  being  susceptible  to  keen  emotions, 
she  did  not  know  what  deep  pain  she  had  given  the  young 
man  by  her  attack.  The  advantage  which  blase  people 
have  over  innocents  in  a  fight  is  awful.  They  know  how 
to  hit,  and  they  don't  mmd  the  punishing.  It  is  said  that 
Deaf  Burke's  physiognomy  was  so  calloused  by  frequent 
poundings  that  he  would  permit  any  man  to  give  him  a 
facer  for  a  shilling  a  crack. 

Lillie  said  almost  nothmo-  duruio-  the  conversation,  be- 
ing  quite  overcome  with  amazement  and  anger  at  Col- 
burne's  degradation  and  at  the  wrongheadedness,  the  in- 
delicacy, the  fanaticism  with  which  he  defended  it.  When 
the  errmg  young  man  left  the  house  she  did  not  give  him 
her  hand,  after  her  usual  friendly  southern  fashion.  The 
pride  of  race,  the  prejudices  of  her  education,  would  not 
permit  her  to  be  cordial,  at  least  not  in  the  first  moments 
of  offence,  with  one  who  felt  himself  at  liberty  to  go  from 
her  parlor  to  that  of  an  octoroon.  How  could  a  Miss 
Ravenel  put  herself  on  a  level  with  a  Miss  Meurice. 

"  Oh,  these  abolitionists  !  these  negar  worshippers  !" 
laughed  Mrs,  Larue,  when  the  social  heretic  had  taken 
himself  away.     "  Are  they  not  horrible,  these  Xew  Eng- 


From    Secession    to     Loyalty.         189 

laud  isms  ?  He  will  be  joining  the  vondoos  next.  I  foresee 
that  you  will  have  rivals,  Mees  Lillie.  I  fear  that  Made- 
moiselle Meurice  will  carry  the  day.  You  are  under  the 
disadvantage  of  being  white.  Et  puis  tu  n'est  pas 
descendue  d'une  race  batarde.  Quel  malheur  !  Je  ne  dirais 
rien  s'il  entretenait  son  octaronne  a  lui.  Yoila  qui  est 
permis,  bien  que  ce  n'est  pas  joli." 

"  Mrs.  Larue,  I  wish  you  wouldn't  talk  to  me  in  that 
^^ay  ; — I  don't  like  to  hear  it,"  said  Lillie,  in  high  anger. 

"  Mais  c'est  mieux  au  moins  que  de  les  epouser,  les  octa- 
ronnes,"  persisted  Madame. 

Miss  Ravenel  rose  and  went  to  her  own  house  and 
room  without  answering.  Since  her  father  fled  from  Xew 
Orleans,  openly  espousmg  the  cause  of  the  Xorth  against 
the  South,  she  had  not  been  so  vexed,  so  hurt,  as  she  was 
by  this  vulgar  conduct  of  her  friend.  Captain  Colburne. 
Although  it  cannot  be  said  that  she  had  even  begun  to 
love  him,  she  certainly  did  like  him  better  than  any  other 
man  that  she  ever  knew,  excepting  her  father  and  Colonel 
Carter.  She  had  thought,  also,  that  he  liked  her  too  well 
to  do  anythmg  which  would  be  sure  to  meet  her  disaj)- 
probation  ;  and  her  womanly  pride  was  exceedingly  hurt 
in  that  her  friendship  had  been  risked  for  the  sake  of  com- 
munion with  a  race  of  pariahs.  There  is  little  doubt  that 
Colburne  now  had  small  chance  v\dth  Miss  Eavenel.  He 
guessed  as  much,  and  the  thought  cut  him  even  more 
deeply  that  he  could  have  imagined ;  but  he  was  too  chival- 
rous to  be  false  to  his  education,  to  his  principles,  to  him- 
self, though  it  were  to  gain  the  heart  of  the  only  woman 
whom  he  had  ever  loved.  Li  fact,  so  fastidious  was  his 
sense  of  honor  that  he  had  disdained  to  fortify  himself 
ao-ainst  Mrs.  Larue's  attack  by  stating,  as  he  might  have 
done  truthfully,  that  at  one  of  these  Meurice  dinners  he 
had  sat  by  the  side  of  Colonel  Carter. 

I  consider  it  worth  while  to  mention  here  that  Colburne 
committed  a  great  mistake  about  this  time  in  declining  a 
regiment  which  the  eldest  Meurice  offered  to  raise  for  him, 


190  Miss     Ravexel's     Coxversiox 

providing  he  would  apply  for  the  colonelcy.  But  it  was 
not  for  fear  of  Mrs.  Larue  nor  yet  of  Miss  Ravenel  that  he 
declined  the  proffer.  He  took  the  proposition  into  serious 
consideration  and  referred  it  to  Carter,  who  advised  him 
against  it.  Public  opmion  on  this  subject  had  not  yet  be- 
come so  overpowermgly  luminous  that  the  old  regular, 
the  West  Pomt  Brahmin,  could  see  the  negro  in  a  military 
light. 

"  I  may  be  all  wrong,"  he  admitted  with  a  considerable 
effusion  of  swearing.  "  If  the  war  spins  out  it  may  prove 
me  all  wrong.  A  downright  slaughtering  match  of 'three 
or  four  years  will  force  one  party  or  other  to  call  in  the 
nigger.  But  I  can't  come  to  it  yet.  I  despise  the  low 
lu-ute.  I  hate  to  see  him  in  uniform.  And  then  he  never 
will  be  used  for  the  higher  military  operations.  If  you 
take  a  command  of  niggers,  you  will  find  yourself  put  into 
Fort  Pike  or  some  such  place,  among  the  mosquitoes  and 
fever  and  ague,  where  white  men  can't  live.  Or  your 
regiment  will  be  made  road-builders,  and  scavengers,  and 
bao-o-ao-e  o-uards,  to  do  the  dirty  work  of  white  res^iments. 
You  never  Avill  form  a  line  of  battle,  nor  head  a  storming 
column,  nor  get  any  credit  if  you,.,d'0.  And  finally,  just 
look  at  the  military  position  of  these  Louisiana  black  regi- 
ments. They  are  not  ax^tnowledged  by  the  government 
yet ;  they  are  not  a  part  of  the  army.  They  are  only 
Louisiana  militia,  called  out  by  General  Butler  on  his  own 
responsibility.  Suppose  the  War  Department  shouldn't 
approve  his  policy ; — then  down  goes  your  house.  You 
have  resigned  your  captaincy  to  get  a  sham  colonelcy ; 
and  there  you  are,  out  of  the  service,  with  a  bran-new 
uniform.  Stay  in  the  regiment.  You  shall  have,  by" 
(this  and  that !)  "  the  first  vacancy  in  the  field  positions." 

In  fact  it  was  an  espnt  du  coiys  which  more  than  any- 
thing else  induced  Colburne  to  clmg  to  the  Tenth  Barataria. 
A  volunteer,  a  citizen  soldier,  new  to  the  ways  of  armies, 
he  lonojed  to  do  his  fiorhtin^  under  his  own  State  flag,  and 


Feom     Secession     to     Loyalty.        191 

at  the  head  of  the  men  whom  he  had  hunself  raised  and 
drilled  for  the  battle-field. 

About  these  times  Colonel  Carter  broke  up  that  more 
than  questionable  domestic  establishment  which  Lieutenant 
Yan  Zandt  had  alluded  to  under  the  humorous  misnomer 
of  "  a  little  French  boudoir.''''  Whether  this  step  was  taken 
by  the  advice  of  Mrs.  Larue,  or  solely  because  the  Colonel 
had  found  some  source  of  truer  enjoyment,  I  am  unable  to 
say ;  but  it  is  certain,  and  it  is  also  a  very  natural  human 
circumstance,  that  from  this  day  his  admiration  for  Miss 
Raveriel  burgeoned  rapidly  mto  the  condition  of  a  passion. 


CHAPTER  XIY. 

LLLLIE    CHOOSES   FOR   HERSELF. 

Late  in  that  eventful  summer  of  1862,  so  bloody  in  Vir- 
ginia and  Kentucky,  so  comparatively  peaceful  in  the  ma- 
larious heats  of  Louisiana,  the  Colonel  of  the  Tenth  Bara- 
taria  held  a  swearing  soliloquy.  Li  general  when  he 
swore  it  was  at  somebody  or  to  somebody ;  but  on  the 
present  occasion  the  performance  was  confined  to  the  soli- 
tude of  his  own  room  and  the  gratification  of  his  own 
ears ;  unless,  indeed,  we  may  venture  to  suppose  that  he 
had  a  guardian  angel  whose  painful  duty  it  was  to  attend 
him  constantly.  I  suspect  that  I  have  not  yet  enabled 
the  reader  to  realize  how  remarkable  were  the  Colonel's 
gifts  in  the  way  of  profanity;  and  I  fear  that  I  could  not 
do  it  without  penning  three  or  four  such  astonishing  pages 
as  never  were  printed,  unless  it  might  be  m  the  infernal 
regions.  In  the  appropriate  words  of  Lieutenant  Yan 
Zandt,  who,  by  the  way,  honestly  admired  his  superior 
officer  for  this  and  for  his  every  other  characteristic,  "  it 
was  a  nasty  old  swear." 


192  i\I  I  S  S       11  A  V  E  N  E  L  '  S       C  O  N  V  E  II  S  I  O  X 

Carter's  quarters  were  a  large  brick  house  belonging  to 
a  lately  wealthy  but  now  impoverished  and  exiled  Seces- 
sionist, lie  had  his  office,  his  parlor,  his  private  sittmg- 
rooni,  his  dmmg-room,  his  billiard-room,  and  five  upper 
bedrooms,  besides  the  basement.  His  life  corresponded 
with  his  surroundings ;  his  dinners  were  elegant,  his  wines 
and  segars  superior.  As  it  was  now  evening  and  his  busi- 
ness hours  long  since  over,  he  was  in  his  sitting-room, 
lounging  in  an  easy  chair,  his  feet  on  a  table,  a  half- 
smoked  segar  in  one  hand  and  an  open  letter  in  the  other. 
Only  the  Colonel  or  Lieutenant  Van  Zandt,  ormeneqfually 
gifted  m  ardent  expressions,  could  suitably  describe  the 
heat  of  the  weather.  Although  he  wore  nothmg  but  his 
shirt  and  pantaloons,  his  cheeks  were  deeply  flushed,  and 
his  forehead  beaded  with  ijerspiration.  The  Louisiana 
mosquitoes,  a  numerous  and  venomous  people,  were  buzz- 
ing in  his  ears,  raising  blotches  on  his  face  and  perforat- 
ing his  Imen.  But  it  was  not  about  them,  it  was  about 
the  letter,  that  he  was  blaspheming.  When  the  paroxysm 
was  over  he  restored  the  segar  to  his  lips,  discovered  that 
it  was  out,  and  relighted  it ;  for  he  was  old  smoker  enough 
and  healthy  enough  to  prefer  the  pungency  of  a  stump  to 
the  milder  flavor  of  a  virgin  weed.  While  he  re-reads  his 
letter,  we  will  venture  to  look  over  his  shoulder. 

"  My  dear  Colonel,"  it  ran,  "  I  am  sorry  that  I  can  give 
you  no  better  news.  Waldo  and  I  have  worked  like  Tro- 
jans, but  without  bringing  anything  to  pass.  You  will 
see  by  enclosed  copy  of  application  to  the  Secretary,  that 
Ave  got  a  respectable  crowd  of  Senators  and  Representatives 
to  join  in  demandmg  a  step  for  you.  The  Secretary  is  all 
right ;  he  fully  acknowledges  your  claims.  But  those 
infernal  bigots,  the  Sumner  and  Wilson  crowd,  got  ahead 
of  us.  They  went  to  headquarters,  civil  and  military.  We 
couldn't  even  secure  your  nomination,  much  less  a  sena- 
torial majority  for  confiimation.  These  cursed  fools  mean 
to  purify  the  army,  they  say.  They  put  McClellan's  defeat 
down  to  his  pro-slavery  sentiments,  and  Pope's  defeat  to 


Fkom     Secession     to     Loyalty.       193 

McClellan.  They  intend  to  turn  out  every  moderate  man, 
and  shove  in  their  own  sort.  They  talk  of  making  Banks 
head  of  the  Army  of  the  Potomac,  in  place  of  McClellan, 
who  has  just  saved  the  capital  and  the  nation.  There 
never  was  such  fanaticism  since  the  Scotch  mu:iisters  at 
Dunbar  undertook  to  pray  and  preach  down  CromwelFs 
army.  You  are  one  of  the  men  whom  they  have  black- 
balled. They  have  got  hold  of  the  tail-end  of  some  old 
plans  of  yours  in  the  filibustering  days,  and  are  making  the 
most  of  it  to  show  that  you  are  unfit  to  command  a  brig- 
ade in  *  the  army  of  the  Lord.'  They  say  you  are  not  the 
man  to  march  on  with  old  John  Brown's  soul  and  hang 
JefT.  Davis  on  a  sour  apple-tree.  I  think  you  had  better 
take  measures  to  get  rid  of  that  filibustering  ghost.  I  have 
another  piece  of  advice  to  ofier.  Mere  administrative 
ability  in  an  office  these  fellows  can't  appreciate ;  but  they 
can  be  dazzled  by  successM  service  in  the  field,  because 
that  is  beyond  theii*  own  cowardly  possibilities  ;  also  be- 
cause it  takes  with,  their  constituents,  of  whom  they  are  the 
most  respectful  and  obedient  servants.  So  why  not  give 
up  your  mayoralty  and  go  in  for  the  autumn  campaign  ? 
If  you  will  send  home  your  name  with,  a  victory  attached 
to  it,  I  think  we  can  manufacture  a  a  public  opinion  to 
compel  your  nomination  and  confirmation.  Mind,  I  am 
not  finding  fault.  I  know  that  nothing  can  be  done  in 
Louisiana  during  the  simimer.  But  blockheads  don't  know 
this,  and  in  politics  we  are  forced  to  appeal  to  blockheads  ; 
our  supreme  court  of  decisions  is,  after  all,  the  twenty 
millions  of  ignorami  who  do  the  voting.  Accordingly,  I 
ad^dse  you  to  please  these  twenty  millions  by  putting  your- 
self into  the  fall  campaign. 

"  Very  truly  yours,  &c." 

"  D n  it !  of  course  I  mean  to  fight,"  muttered  the 

Colonel,  when  he  had  finished  his  second  reading.  "  I'll 
resign  the  mayoralty,  and  ask  for  active  service  and  a 
brigade.     Then  I  must  wi'ite  something  to  explain  that 

I 


194        Miss    Ravenel's    Conversion 

filibustering  business. — Xo,  I  Tvon't.  The  less  that  is  ex- 
plained, the  better.  I'll  deny  it  outright. — Now  there's 
Weitzel.  He,  by  "  (this  and  that)  "  can  have  a  star,  and 
I  can't.  My  junior,  by"  (that  and  the  other)  "  in  the  ser- 
vice, by "  (this  and  that)  "  by  at  least  six  years.  What 
if  he  should  get  the  active  brigade  ?  It  would  be  just  him, 
by  "  (this  and  that)  "  to  want  it,  and  just  like  Butler,  by" 
(that  and  the  other)  "  to  give  it  to  him." 

The  Colonel  sat  for  a  long  time  in  vexatious  thought, 
slapping  his  mosquito  bites,  relighting  his  stump  and 
smoking  it  down  to  its  bitterest  dregs.  Finally,  without 
having  written  a  word,  he  gave  up  the  battle  with  the 
stinging  multitudes,  drank  a  glass  of  brandy  and  water, 
turned  ofli"  the  gas,  stepped  into  the  adjoining  bedroom, 
kicked  off  his  trousers  (long  since  unbuttoned),  drew  the 
mosquito-curtain,  and  went  to  bed  as  quickly  and  quietly 
as  an  infimt.  Soldiering  habits  had  enabled  him  to  court 
slumber  with  success  under  all  circumstances. 

During  the  month  of  September  was  formed  that  fa- 
mous organization,  composed  of  five  regiments  of  infantry, 
with  four  squadrons  and  two  batteries  attached,  known 
officially  as  the  Reserve  Brigade,  but  popularly  as  Weit- 
zel's.  It  was  intended  from  the  first  for  active  service, 
and  the  title  Reserve  was  apphed  to  it  simply  to  mislead 
the  enemy.  The  regiments  were  encamped  for  purj^oses 
of  drill  and  preparation  on  the  flats  near  CarroUton,  a  vil- 
lage four  or  five  miles  above  Xew  Orleans.  Carter  ai> 
plied  for  the  brigade,  but  was  imable  to  obtain  it.  "Weitzel 
was  not  only  his  superior  in  rank,  but  was  Butler's  favorite 
officer  and  most  trusted  military  adviser.  Then  Carter 
threw  up  his  mayoralty  and  reported  for  duty  to  his  regi- 
ment, in  great  bitterness  of  spirit  at  finding  himself  obliged 
to  serve  under  a  man  who  had  once  been  his  junior  and 
inferior.  His  only  consolation  was  that  this  was  not  the 
worst ;  both  he  and  Weitzel  were  under  the  orders  of  an 
attorney. 

But  he  went  to  work  vigorously  at  drilling,  disciplining 


From     Secession    to     Loyalty.         195 

and  fittiiio-  out  his  regiment.  His  Sunday  morning  inspec- 
tions were  awful  ordeals  which  lasted  the  whole  forenoon. 
If  a  company  showed  three  or  four  dirty  men  the  Colonel 
sent  for  the  Captain  and  gave  him  such  a  lecture  as  made 
him  think  seriously  of  tendering  his  resignation.  When  not 
on  drill  or  guard  duty  the  soldiers  were  busy  nearly  all 
day  m  brushmg  their  uniforms,  polishing  their  brasses  and 
buttons,  blacking  their  shoes  and  accoutrements,  and  wash- 
ing their  shu'ts,  drawers,  stockings,  and  even  their  canteen 
strings.  The  battalion  drills  of  the  Tenth  were  truly  la- 
borious gymnastic  exercises,  performed  in  great  part  on 
the  double-quick.  The  sentinels  did  their  whole  duty,  or 
were  relieved  and  sent  to  the  guardhouse.  Corporals  who 
failed  to  make  their  rounds  properly  were  reduced  to  the 
ranks.  Privates  who  forgot  to  salute  an  officer,  or  who 
did  not  do  it  in  handsome  style,  were  put  in  confinement 
on  bread  and  water.  The  company  cooking  utensils  were 
scoured  every  day,  and  the  camp  was  as  clean  as  bare, 
turfless  earth  could  be.  Carter  was  a  hard-hearted,  intel- 
ligent, conscientious,  beneficent  tyrant.  The  Tenth 
Barataria  was  the  show  regiment  of  the  Reserve  Brigade. 
I  have  not  time  to  analyze  the  interesting  feelings  of  free- 
born  Yankees  under  this  searching  despotism.  I  can  only 
say  that  the  soldiers  hated  their  colonel  because  they 
feared  him ;  that,  like  true  Americans  they  profoundly  re- 
spected him  because,  as  they  said,  "  he  knew  his  biz ;" 
that  they  were  excessively  proud  of  the  superior  drill  and 
neatness  to  which  he  had  brought  them  against  their 
wills;  and  that,  on  the  whole,  they  would  not  have  ex- 
changed him  for  any  other  regimental  commander  in  the 
brigade.  They  firmly  believed  that  under  "  Old  Carter  " 
they  could  whip  the  best  regiment  in  the  rebel  service.  It 
is  true  that  there  were  exceptional  ruffians  who  could  not 
forget  that  they  had  been  bucked  and  put  in  the  stocks, 
and  who  muttered  vindictive  prophecies  as  to  something 
desperate  which  they  would  do  on  the  first  field  of  battle. 
"  Bedad  an'  I'll  not  forget  to  pay  me  reshpecs  to  'im," 


196         Miss     Ravenel's     Cox  vers  iox 

growled  a  Hibernian  pugilist.  "  Let  'im  get  in  front  of 
the  line,  an  I'll  show  'im  that  I  know  how  to  fire  to  the 
right  and  left  oblike." 

Carter  laughed  contemptuously  when  informed  of  the 
bruiser's  threat. 

"  It's  not  worth  taking  notice  of,"  he  said.  "  I  know 
what  he'll  do  when  he  comes  under  the  enemy's  fire.  He'll 
blaze  away  straight  before  him  as  fast  as  he  can  load  and 
pull  trigger,  he'll  be  in  such  a  cursed  hurry  to  kill  the  men 
who  are  trying  to  kill  him.  I  couldn't  probably  make  him 
fire  right  oblique,  if  I  wanted  to.  You  never  have  seen 
men  in  battle,  Captain  Colburne.  It's  really  amusing  to 
notice  how  eager  and  savage  new  troops  are.  The  mo- 
ment a  man  has  discharged  his  piece  he  falls  to  loading  as 
if  his  salvation  depended  on  it.  The  moment  he  has  loaded 
he  fires  just  where  he  did  the  first  time,  whether  he  sees 
anything  or  not.  And  he'll  keep  doing  this  till  you  stop 
him.  I  am  speaking  of  raw  troops,  you  understand.  The 
old  cocks  save  their  powder, — that  is  unless  they  get  be- 
deviled with  a  panic.  You  must  remember  this  when  w.e 
come  to  fight.  Don't  let  your  men  get  to  blazing  away  at 
nothino^  and  scarinsj  themselves  with  their  own  noise,  un- 
der  the  delusion  that  they  are  fiercely  engaged." 

During  the  month  or  more  which  the  brigade  passed  at 
Carrollton  Ravenel  frequently  visited  Colburne,  and  did 
not  forget  to  make  an  incidental  call  or  two  of  civility  on 
Colonel  Carter.  On  two  or  three  gala  occasions  he  brought 
out  Mrs.  Larue  and  Miss  Ravenel.  They  always  came  and 
went  by  the  railroad,  their  present  means  not  justifying  a 
carriage.  When  the  ladies  appeared  in  cam^)  the  Colonel 
usually  discovered  the  fact,  and  hastened  to  make  himself 
master  of  the  situation.  He  invited  them  under  the  mar- 
quee of  his  double  tent,  brought  out  store  of  confiscated 
Madeira,  ordered  the  regimental  band  to  play,  sent  word 
to  the  Lieutenant-Colonel  to  take  charge  of  dress-parade, 
and  escorted  his  visitors  in  front  of  the  Ime  to  show  them 
the  exercises.     In  these  high  official  hospitalities  neither 


From  Secession  to  Loyalty.    197 

Colburne  nor  any  other  company  officer  was  invited  to 
share.  Even  the  lieutenant-colonel,  the  major,  the  first 
surgeon  and  the  cha^ilain,  though  ranking  as  field  and 
stafl:*  ofiicers,  kept  at  a  respectful  distance  from  the  favored 
visitors  and  their  awful  host.  For  discipline's  sake  Carter 
lived  in  loftier  state  among  these  volunteers  than  he  would 
have  done  in  a  regular  regiment.  Miss  Ravenel  was 
amused,  but  she  was  also  considerably  impressed,  by  the 
awe  with  which  he  was  regarded  by  all  who  surrounded 
him.  I  believe  that  all  women  admire  men  who  can  make 
other  men  afraid. 

"  Are  you  as  much  scared  at  the  general  as  your  officers 
are  at  you  ?"  she  laughingly  asked.  "  I  wish  I  could  see 
the  general." 

"  I  will  brmg  him  to  your  house,"  saicl  Carter  ;  but  this 
was  one  of  the  jDromises  that  he  did  not  keep.  That  gay 
speech  of  the  young  lady  must  have  been  a  bitter  dose  to 
him,  as  we  know  who  are  aware  of  his  professional  disap- 
pointment. 

The  ladies  were  delighted  to  walk  down  the  open  ranks 
on  inspection,  and  survey  the  neat  packing  of  the  double 
lines  of  unslung  knapsacks. 

"  It  is  like  going  through  a  milliner's  shop,"  said  Lillie. 
"  How  nicely  the  things  are  folded !  They  really  have  a  great 
deal  of  taste  in  arranging  the  colors.  See,  here  is  blue  and 
red  and  grey,  and  then  blue  again,  with  a  black  cravat  here 
and  a  white  handherchief  there.  It  is  like  the  backs  of  a 
row  of  books." 

"Yes,  this  box  knapsack  is  a  good  one  for  show,"  the 
Colonel  admitted.  "  It  is  too  large,  however.  When  the 
men  come  to  march  they  will  find  themselves  overloaded. 
I  shall  have  to  make  a  final  inspection  and  throw  away  a 
few  tons  of  these  extra-military  gewgaws.  What  does  a 
soldier  want  of  .black  cravats  and  daguerreotypes  and 
diaries  and  Testaments  ?" 

"  How  cruelly  practical  you  are  !"  said  Lillie. 

"  Not  in  every  thing,"  responded  the  Colonel  with  a  sigh  ; 


198         Miss     Ravexel's     Conversion 

and  for  some  reason  the  young  lady  blushed  profoundly 
at  the  answer. 

Of  course  these  visits,  the  regiment,  the  Reserve  Brigade, 
and  its  destination  were  matters  of  frequent  conversation 
at  the  Ravenel  dwellinor.  Throuorh  some  leak  of  indiscre- 
tion  or  treachery  it  transpired  that  Weitzel  was  to  oust 
Mouton  from  the  country  between  the  Mississippi  and*  the 
Atchafalaya,  where  he  was  a  constant  menace  to  New  Or- 
leans. The  whole  city,  rebel  and  loyal,  argued  and  quar- 
reled about  the  chances  of  success.  The  Secessionists  Avere 
rampant  ;  they  said  that  Mouton  had  fifteen  thousand  men  ; 
they  ofi:ered  to  bet  their  j^iles  that  he  would  have  Xcw  Or- 
leans back  in  a  month.  At  every  notable  corner  and  in 
front  of  every  poj^ular  drinking  saloon  were  grouj^s  of 
tall,  dark,  fierce-looking  men,  carrying  heavy  canes,  who 
glared  at  Union  oflicers  and  muttered  about  coming 
Union  defeats.  Pale  brunette  ladies  flouted  their  skirts 
scornfully  at  sight  of  Federal  uniforms,  and  flounced  out 
of  omnibusses  and  street  cars  defiled  by  their  presence. 
These  feminine  politicians  never  visited  Miss  Ravenel,  how- 
ever intimately  they  might  have  known  her  before  the  war  ; 
and  if  they  met  her  in  the  street  they  complimented  her  with 
the  same  look  of  hate  which  they  vouchsafed  to  the  flag 
of  theu'  country.  With  Madame  Larue  they  were  still  on 
good  terms,  although  they  rarely  called  at  her  house  for 
fear  of  encountering  the  Ravenels.  This  suited  Madame's 
puqDOses  precisely ;  she  could  thereby  be  Federal  at  home 
and  Secessionist  abroad. 

"  You  know,  my  dears,"  she  would  say  to  the  female 
Langdons  and  Soules,  "  that  one  cannot  undo  one's  self  of 
one's  own  relatives.  That  would  be  unreasonable.  So  I 
am  obliged  to  receive  the  Doctor  and  his  poor  daughter 
at  my  house.  But  I  understand  perfectly  that  their  so- 
ciety must  be  to  you  disagreeable.  Therefore  I  absolve 
you,  though  with  pain,  from  returning  my  visits.  But,  my 
dears,  I  shall  only  call  on  you  the  more  often.  Do  not  be 
surprised,"  she  would  sometimes  add,  "  if  you  see  a  Fed- 


Fko:h     Secession    to     Loyalty.       199 

eral  uniform  enter  my  door  from  time  to  time.  I  have  my 
objects.  I  flatter  myself  that  I  shall  yet  be  of  benefit  to 
the  good  cause." 

And  in  fact  she  did  occasionally  send  to  a  certain  secret 
junto  scraps  of  information  which  she  professed  to  have  ex- 
tracted from  Union  ofiicers.  This  information  was  of  no 
value ;  it  is  even  probable  that  much  of  it  was  a  deliberate 
figment  of  her  imagination ;  but  in  this  way  she  kept  her 
j)olitical  odor  sweet  in  the  nostrils  of  the  city  Secessionists. 

In  secret  she  cared  for  little  more  than  to  be  on  the  safe 
side  and  keep  her  property.  She  laughed  with  delighted 
malice  at  the  Doctor's  sarcasms  upon  the  absurdities  of 
New  Orleans  politics,  and  the  rottenness  of  ISTew  Orleans 
morals.  She  sympathized  with  Lillie's  youthful  indigna- 
tion at  her  own  social  proscription.  She  flattered  Carter's 
professional  pride  by  predicting  his  success  m  the  field. 
She  satirized  Colburne  behind  his  back,  and  praised  him  to 
his  face,  for  his  Catonian  principles.  She  was  all  things  to 
all  men,  and  made  herself  generally  agreeable. 

Meantime  Lillie  had  become  what  she  called  a  Federalist ; 
for  she  was  not  yet  so  established  in  the  faith  as  to  style 
it  Loyalist  or  Patriot.  What  girl  would  not  have  been 
thus  converted,  driven  as  she  w^as  from  the  mansion  of 
secession  by  its  bitter  inmates,  and  drawn  towards  the  op- 
posing house  by  her  father  and  her  two  admirers  ?  Colonel 
Carter's  visits  were  frequent  and  his  influence  strong  and 
increasing,  notwithstandmg  the  Doctor's  warning  tirades. 
It  made  her  uneasy,  fretful  and  unhappyj  to  disagree  with 
her  father ;  but  on  the  subject  of  this  preference  she  posi- 
tively could  not  hold  his  opinions.  He  seemed  to  her  to 
be  so  unjust ;  she  could  not  understand  why  he  should  be 
so  bitterly  and  groundlessly  prejudiced ;  the  reasons 
which  he  hinted  at  glided  off"  her  like  rain  off  a  bird's 
feathers.  She  granted  no  faith  to  the  insinuation  that  the 
Colonel  was  a  bad  man,  nor,  had  she  credited  it,  would  she 
have  inferred  therefrom  that  he  would  make  a  bad  husband. 
Let  us  not  be  astonished  at  the  delusion  of  this  intelligent 


200         Miss    Raven  el's     Conversion 

and  pure-minded  young  lady.  I  have  witnessed  more  ex- 
traordinary assortments  and  choices  than  this.  I  have 
more  than  once  seen  an  elegant,  brilliant,  highly-cultured 
girl  make  an  inexplicable  and  hungry  snap  at  a  man  who 
was  stupidly,  boorishly,  viciously  her  mferior.  The  subtle 
and  potent  sense  which  draws  the  two  sexes  together  is 
•an  inexorable  despot. 

The  Colonel  was  one  of  its  victims,  although  not  quite 
bereft  of  reason.  Still,  if  he  did  not  offer  himself  to  Miss 
Ravenel  before  going  on  this  Lafourche  expedition,  it  was 
simply  from  considerations  of  worldly  prudence,  or,  as  he 
phrased  it  to  hunself,  out  of  regard  to  her  happiness.  He 
thought  that  his  pay  was  insufficient  to  support  her  in  the 
style  to  which  she  had  been  accustomed,  and  in  which  he 
wished  his  wife  to  live.  That  he  would  be  rejected  he  did 
not  much  expect,  being  a  veteran  in  love  affairs,  accus- 
tomed to  conquer,  and  gifted  by  birthright  with  an  auda- 
cious confidence.  Xor  did  he  so  much  as  suspect  that  he 
was  not  good  enough  for  her.  His  moral  perceptions,  not 
very  keen  perhaps  by  nature,  had  been  still  further  cal- 
loused by  thii'ty-five  years  of  wandering  in  the  wilderness 
of  sin.  Strange  as  it  may  seem  to  people  of  staid  lives  the 
Colonel  did  not  even  consider  himself  a  fast  man.  He  al- 
lowed that  he  drank ;  yes,  that  he  sometimes  drank  more 
than  was  good  for  him ;  but,  as  he  laughingly  said,  he 
never  took  more  than  his  regulation  quart  a  day;  by 
which  he  meant  that,  according  to  the  army  standard,  he 
was  a  temperate  drinker.  As  to  gambling,  that  was  a 
gentleman's  amusement,  and  moreover  he  had  done  very 
little  of  it  in  the  last  year  or  two.     It  was  true  that  he 

had  had  various ;  but  then  all  men  did  that  sort  of 

thing  at  times  and  under  temptation  ;  they  did  it  more  or 
less  openly,  according  as  they  were  men  of  the  world  or 
hypocrites  ;  if  they  said  they  didn't,  they  lied.  The  Colonel 
did  not  grant  the  least  faith  to  the  story  of  Joseph,  or,  al- 
lowing it  to  be  true,  for  the  sake  of  argument,  he  consid- 
ered Joseph  no  gentleman.     In  short,  after  inspecting  him- 


From     Secessiox    to     Loyalty.  201 

self  fairly  and  fully  according  to  his  lights,  he  concluded 
that  he  was  rather  honorable  even  in  his  vices.  Had  he 
not,  for  instance,  entangled  himself  in  that  affair  of  the 
French  boudoir  chiefly  to  get  Miss  Ravenel  out  of  his  head, 
and  so  keep  fvom  leading  her  and  himself  into  a  poverty- 
stricken  marriage  ?  Thus,  though  he  was  very  frank  with 
himself,  he  still  concluded  that  he  was  a  tolerably  good 
fellow.  Yes ;  and  there  were  many  other  persons  who 
thought  him  good  enough ;  men  who  knew  his  ways  per- 
fectly but  could  not  see  much  matter  of  reproach  in  them. 
In  this  state  of  opinion,  and  temper  of  feehng,  the  Colonel 
approached  his  last  interveiw  with  Miss  Ravenel.  He 
meant  to  avoid  the  temptation  of  seeing  her  alone  on  this 
occasion ;  but  when  Mrs.  Larue  told  him  that  he  should 
have  a  private  interview  of  half  an  hour  he  could  not  re- 
fuse the  offer.  It  must  not  be  supposed  that  Lillie  was  a 
party  to  the  conspiracy.  Madame  alone  originated,  planned, 
and  executed.  She  saw  to  it  beforehand  that  the  Doctor 
should  be  invited  out ;  she  stopped  Colburne  on  the  door- 
step with  a  message  that  the  ladies  were  not  at  home ; 
lastly  she  slipped  out  of  the  parlor,  dodged  through  the 
back  passage  into  the  Ravenel  house,  and  remained  there 
thirty  minutes  by  the  watch.  It  vexed  this  amiable  crea- 
ture a  trifle  that  the  Colonel  should  j^refer  Lillie;  but 
since  he  would  be  so  foolish,  she  was  determmed  that  he 
should  make  a  marriage  of  it.  Leaving  her  to  these  re- 
flections as  she  walks  the  Doctor's  studio,  kicking  his 
mmerals  about  the  carpet  with  her  little  feet,  or  watchuig 
at  the  window  lest  he  should  return  unexpectedly,  let  us 
go  back  to  Mss  Ravenel  and  her  still  imdecided  lover.  It 
was  understood  that  the  expedition  was  to  sail  the  next 
day,  although  Carter  had  not  said  so,  not  being  a  man  to 
tattle  official  secrets.  When,  therefore,  he  entered  the 
house  that  evening,  she  felt  a  vague  dread  of  him,  as  if 
half  comprehending  that  the  occasion  might  lead  him  to 
say  somethmg  decisive  of  her  future.  Carter  on  his  part 
knew  that  he  would  not  be  interrupted  for  a  reasonable 
12 


202         Miss     Ravexel's     CoxvetwSiox 

number  of  minutes  ;  and  as  Mrs.  Larue  left  the  room  the 
sense  of  opportunity  rushed  upon  him  like  a  flood  of  tempta- 
tion. He  forgot  in  an  instant  that  she  was  poor,  that  he 
was  poor  and  extravagant,  and  that  a  marriage  would  be 
the  maddest  of  follies,  compared  with  which  all  his  by- 
gone extravagancies  were  acts  of  sedate  wisdom.  He  was 
now  what  he  always  had  been,  and  what  people  of  strong 
passions  very  frequently  are,  the  victim  of  chance  and 
juxtaposition.  He  rose  from  the  sofa  where  he  had  been 
sitting  and  worrying  his  cap,  walked  straight  across  the 
room  with  a  firm  step,  like  the  resolute,  irresistible  ad- 
vance of  a  veteran  regiment,  and  took  a  cliair  beside  her. 

"  Miss  Ravenel,"  he  said,  and  stopped.  There  was 
more  profound  feeling  in  his  voice  and  face  than  we  have 
yet  seen  him  exhibit  m  this  history ;  there  was  so  much, 
and  it  was  so  electrical  in  its  natuix?,  at  least  as  regarded 
her,  that  she  trembled  in  body  and  spirit.  "  Miss  Rav- 
enel," he  resumed,  "  I  did  mtend  to  go  to  this  battle 
without  saying  one  word  of  love  to  you.  But  I  cannot 
do  it.     You  see  I  cannot  do  it." 

Such  a  moment  as  this  is  one  of  the  supreme  moments 
of  a  woman's  life.  There  is  a  fulfillment  of  hope  which  is 
thrillingly  delicious ;  there  is  a  demand,  amounting  to  a 
decree,  which  involves  her  whole  bemg,  her  whole  future ; 
there  is  a  surprise, — it  is  always  a  surprise, — which  is  so 
sudden  and  great  that  it  falls  like  a  terror.  A  pure  and 
loving  girl  who  receives  a  first  declaration  of  love  from 
the  man  whom  she  has  secretly  chosen  out  of  all  men  as 
the  keeper  of  her  heart  is  in  a  condition  of  soul  wliich 
makes  her  womanhood  all  ecstacy.  There  is  not  a  nerve 
in  her  brain,  not  a  drop  of  blood  in  her  body,  which  does 
not  go  delirious  with  the  enthusiasm  of  the  moment.  She 
does  not  ^eem  really  to  see,  nor  to  hear,  nor  to  speak,  but 
only  to  feel  that  presence  and  those  words,  and  her  own 
reply ;  to  feel  them  all  by  some  new,  miraculous  sense, 
such  as  we  are  conscious  of  in  dreams,  Avhen  things  are 
communicated  to  us  and  by  us  without  touch  or  voice.    It 


From    Secession    to    Loyalty.         203 

is  a  mere  palpitation  of  feeling,  yet  full  of  utterances  ;  a 
throbbing  of  happiness  so  acute  and  startling  as  to  be  al- 
most pain.  That  man  has  no  just  comprehension  of  this 
moment,  or  is  very  unworthy  of  the  power  vested  in  his 
manhood,  who  can  awaken  such  emotions  merely  for  a 
passing  pleasure,  or  blight  them  afterward  by  unfaithful- 
ness and  neglect.  In  one  sense  Carter  was  as  noble  as  his 
triumph ;  he  was  not  a  good  man,  but  he  could  love  fer- 
vently. At  the  same  time  he  was  not  timorous,  but  under- 
stood her  although  she  did  not  answer.  Precisely  because 
she  did  not  speak,  because  he  saw  that  she  could  not 
speak,  because  he  felt  that  no  more  speech  was  necessary, 
he  took  her  hand  and  pressed  it  to  his  lips.  The  color 
which  had  left  her  skin  came  back  to  it  and  burned  like  a 
flame  in  her  face  and  neck. 

"  May  I  write  to  you  when  I  am  away  ?"  he  asked. 

She  raised  her  eyes  to  his  with  an  expression  of  loving 
gratitude  which  no  words  could  utter.  She  tried  to 
speak,  but  she  could  only  whisper — 

"  Oh  !  I  should  be  so  happy." 

"  Then,  my  dear,  my  dearest  one,  remember  that  I  am 
yours,  and  try  to  feel  that  you  are  mine." 

I  shall  go  no  farther  in  the  description  of  this  interview. 


CHAPTER  XV. 

LILLIE    BIDS     GOOD-BYE    TO    THE    LOVER    WHOM     SHE     HAS 

CHOSEX,    AND   TO    THE   LOVER   WHOM    SHE 

WOULD   NOT   CHOOSE. 

LiLLiE  left  Mrs.  Larue  early,  without  a  word  as  to  the 
great  event  which  had  just  changed  the  world  for  her, 
and  retired  to  her  own  house  and  her  own  room.  She 
was  in  a  state  of  being,  half  stunned,  half  ecstatic ;  every 
faculty  seemed  to  be  suspended,  except  so  far  as  it  was 


204         Miss     Ravexel's     Coxveksiox 

electrified  to  action  by  one  idea ;  she  sat  by  the  window 
with  folded  hands,  motionless,  seeing  and  hearing  only 
through  her  memory ;  she  sought  to  recollect  him  as  he 
was  when  he  took  her  hand  and  kissed  it ;  she  called  to 
mind  all  that  he  had  said  and  looked  and  done.  She 
could  not  tell  whether  she  had  been  thus  occupied  five 
minutes  or  half  an  hour,  when  she  heard  the  tinkle  of  the 
door-bell,  followed  by  her  father's  entrance.  Tlien  sud- 
denly a  great  terror  and  sense  of  guilt  fell  upon  her  spirit. 
From  the  moment  when  that  confession  of  love  had  been 
uttered  down  to  this  moment  her  mind  had  been  occupied 
by  but  one  human  being,  and  that  was  her  lover.  Now, 
for  the  first  time  during  the  evening,  she  recollected  that 
the  man  of  her  choice  was  not  the  man  of  her  father's 
choice,  but,  more  than  almost  any  other  person,  the  object 
of  liis  suspicion,  if  not  of  his  aversion.  Yet  she  loved 
them  both ;  she  could  not  take  sides  with  one  against  the 
other;  it  would  kill  her  to  give  up  the  affection  of 
either.  All  impulse,  all  passion,  blood  and  brain  as  trem- 
ulous as  quicksilver,  she  ran  down  stairs,  opened  the  door 
into  the  study  where  the  doctor  stood  among  his  boxes, 
wavered  backward  under  a  momentary  throb  of  fear,  then 
sprang  forward,  threw  her  arms  around  his  neck  and 
sobbed  upon  his  shoulder, 

"  Oh,  papa  ! — I  am  so  happy ! — so  miserable  !" 

The  doctor  stared  in  astonishment  and  in  some  vague 
alarm.  Hardly  aware  of  how  much  energy  he  used,  he 
detached  her  from  him  and  held  her  out  at  arm's  length, 
looking  anxiously  at  her  for  an  explanation. 

"  Oh,  don't  push  me  away,"  begged  Lillie,  and  strug- 
gled back  to  him,  trying  to  hide  her  face  against  his 
breast. 

A  suspicion  of  the  truth  fell  across  the  Doctor,  but  he 
strove  to  fling  it  from  him  as  one  dashes  off*  a  disagreeable 
reptile.  Still,  he  looked  quite  nervous  and  apprehensive 
as  he  said,  "  What  is  it,  my  child  ?" 


Fkom     Secession    to     Lovalty.         205 

"  Mr.  Carter  Tvill  tell  you,"  she  whispered ;  then,  before 
he  could  speak,  "  Do  love  him  for  my  sake." 

He  pushed  her  sobbing  into  a  chaii-,  and  turned  his  back 
on  her  with  a  groan. 

"  Oh  \—That  man !— I  can't— I  won't." 

He  walked  several  times  rapidly  up  and  down  the  room, 
and  then  broke  out  again. 

"  I  can  not  consent.  I  will  not  consent.  It  is  not  my 
duty.  Oh,  Lillie !  how  could  you  choose  the  very  man  of 
all  that  —  !  I  tell  you  this  must  not  be.  It  must  stop  here. 
I  have  no  confidence  in  him.  He  will  not  make  you  happy. 
He  will  make  you  miserable.  I  tell  you  that  you  will  re- 
gret the  day  that  you  marry  him  to  the  last  moment  of 
your  life.  My  child,"  (persuasively)  "  you  must  believe 
me.  You  must  trust  my  judgment.  Will  you  not  be 
persuaded  ?     Will  you  not  stop  where  you  are  ?" 

He  ceased  his  walk  and  gazed  eagerly  at  her,  hoping  for 
some  aflirmative  sign.  As  may  be  supposed  Lillie  could 
not  give  it ;  she  could  make  no  very  distinct  signs  just 
then,  either  one  way  or  the  other  ;  she  did  not  speak,  nor 
look  at  him,  nor  shake  her  head,  nor  nod  it ;  she  only  cov- 
ered her  face  with  her  hands,  and  sobbed.  Then  the  Doc- 
tor, feeling  himself  to  be  forsaken,  and  acknowledging  it 
by  outward  dumb  show,  after  the  manner  of  men  who  are 
greatly  moved,  went  to  the  other  end  of  the  room,  sat  down 
by  himself  and  dropped  his  head  into  his  hands,  as  if  accept- 
ing utter  loneliness  m  the  world.  Lillie  gave  him  one 
glance  in  his  acknowledged  extremity  of  desertion,  and, 
rimning  to  him,  knelt  at  his  feet  and  laid  her  head  against 
his.  She  was  certainly  the  most  unhappy  of  the  two,  but 
her  eagerness  w^as  even  stronger  than  her  misery. 

"  Oh  papa  !  ivhy  do  you  hate  him  so  ?" 

"  I  don't  hate  him.  I  dread  him.  I  suspect  him.  I  know 
he  will  not  make  you  happy.  I  know  he  will  make  you 
miserable." 

"  But  why  ? — why  ?    Perhaps  he  can  explain  it.     Tell 


206  Miss     R  a  v  e  n  e  l  '  s     Conversion 

him  what  you  think,  papa.  I  am  sure  he  can  expLain  every- 
thing." 

But  the  Doctor  only  groaned,  rose  up,  disentangled 
himself  from  his  daughter,  and  leavmg  her  there  on  the 
floor,  continued  his  doleful  walk. 

Xever  having  really  feared  what  had  come  to  pass,  but 
only  given  occasional  thought  to  it  as  a  possible  though 
improbable  calamity,  he  had  not  inquired  strictly  into 
Carter's  manner  of  life,  and  so  had  nothing  definite  to  al- 
lege against  him.  At  the  same  time  he  knew  perfectly 
well  from  trifling  circumstances,  incidental  remarks,  gen- 
eral air  and  bearing,  that  he  was  one  of  the  class  known  in 
the  world  as  "  men  about  town  :"  a  class  not  only  obnox- 
ious to  the  Doctor's  moral  sentiments  as  the  antipodes  of 
his  own  purity,  but  also  as  bemg  a  natural  product  of  that 
slaveholding  system  which  he  regarded  as  a  compendium 
of  injustice  and  wickedness  ;  a  class  the  members  of  which 
were  constantly  coming  to  grief  and  bringmg  sorrow  upon 
those  who  held  them  m  affection.  He  knew  them  ;  he  had 
watched  and  disliked  them  since  his  childhood ;  he  was 
familiar  by  unpleasant  observation  with  their  language, 
feelings,  and  doings  ;  he  knew  where  they  began,  how  they 
went  on,  and  in  what  sort  they  ended.  The  calamities 
which  they  wrought  for  themselves  and  all  who  were 'con- 
nected with  tiiem  he  had  witnessed  in  a  hundred  similar, 
and,  so  to  speak,  reflected  instances.  He  remembered 
young  Hammer  si  ey,  who  had  sunk  down  in  drunken  par- 
alysis and  burned  liis  feet  to  a  crisp  at  his  father's  fire. 
Young  Ellicot  had  dashed  out  his  brains  by  leapuig  from 
a  fourth  story  window  in  a  fit  of  delirium  tremens.  Tom 
Akers  was  shot  dead  while  drunk  by  a  negro  whom  he  had 
horribly  tortured.  Fred  Sanderson  beat  his  wife  until  she 
left  him,  spent  his  property  at  bars  and  gaming-tables 
and  died  in  Cuba  wjth  Walker.  Others  he  recollected,  by 
the  dozen,  it  seemed  to  him,  who  had  fallen,  wild  with 
whiskey,  in  grog-shop  broils  or  savage  street  rencontres. 
Those  who  lived  to  grrow  old  had  slave-born  children,  whom 


From    Secession    to    Loyalty.         207 

they  either  shamelessly  acknowledged,  or  more  shamelessly- 
ignored,  and  perha^^s  sold  at  the  auction-block.  They  were 
drunkards,  gamblers,  adulterers,  murderers.  Of  such  was 
the  kingdom  of  Hell.  And  this  man,  to  whom  his  only 
child,  his  Lillie,  had  entrusted  her  heart,  was,  he  feared, 
he  almost  knew,  one  of  that  same  class,  although  not,  it 
was  to  be  hoped,  so  deeply  stamed  with  the  brutish  forms 
of  vice  which  flow  directly  from  slavery.  He  could  not 
entrust  her  to  him ;  he  could  not  accept  him  as  a  son. 
At  the  same  time  he  could  not  in  this  interview  make  any 
distinct  charges  against  his  life  and  character.  Accordingly 
his  talk  was  vague,  incoherent,  and  sounded  to  Lillie  like 
the  frettings  of  groundless  prejudice.  The  painful  inter- 
view lasted  above  an  hour,  and,  so  far  as  concerned  a  de- 
cision, ended  precisely  where  it  began. 

"  Go  to  your  bed,  my  child,"  the  Doctor  said  at  last. 
"  And  go  to  sleep  if  you  can.     You  will  cry  yourself  sick." 

She  gave  him  a  silent  kiss,  wet  with  tears,  and  went 
away  with  an  aching  heart  and  a  wearied  frame. 

For  two  hours  or  more  the  Doctor  continued  his  miser- 
able walk  up  and  down  the  study,  from  the  door  to  the 
window,  from  corner  to  corner,  occasionally  stopping  to 
rest  a  tired  body  which  yet  had  no  longing  for  slumber. 
He  went  back  over  his  daughter's  life,  begmning  with  the 
infantile  days  when  he  used  to  send  the  servant  away  from 
the  cradle  in  which  she  lay,  and  rock  it  himself  for  the 
pure  pleasure  of  watching  her.  He  remembered  how  she 
had  expanded  into  the  whole  of  his  heart  when  her  mother 
died.  He  thought  how  solely  he  had  loved  her  since  that 
bereavement,  and  how  her  love  for  him  had  grown  with 
her  growth  and  strengthened  with  every  maturing  power 
of  her  spirit.  In  the  enthusiasm,  the  confidence  of  this 
recollection,  he  did  not  doubt  at  moments  but  that  he  could 
win  her  back  to  himself  from  this  misplaced  aflection.  She 
was  so  young  yet,  her  heart  must  be  so  pliable  yet,  that 
he  could  surely  influence  her.  As  this  comforting  hope 
stole  through  him  he  felt  a  desire  to  look  at  her.    Yes,  he 


208  Miss     Rave  x  el's     Coxversiox 

must  see  her  again  before  he  could  get  to  sleep  ;  he  would 
go  gently  to  her  room  and  gaze  at  her  without  waking 
her. '  Putting  on  his  slipi^ers,  he  crept  softly  up  stairs  and 
opened  her  door  without  noise.  By  the  light  of  a  dying 
candle  he  saw  Lillie  in  her  night  dress,  sittmg  up  in  bed 
and  wipmg  the  tears  from  her  cheeks  with  her  hands. 

"  Papa  !"  she  said  in  an  eager  gasp,  tremulous  with 
affection,  grief  and  hope. 

"  Oh,  my  child  !  I  thought  you  would  be  asleep,"  he 
answered,  advancmg  to  the  bedside. 

"  You  are  not  very  angry  with  me  ?"  she  asked,  making 
him  sit  down  by  her. 

"  No  ;  not  angry.     But  so  grieved  !" 

*'  Then  may  he  not  write  to  me  ?" 

She  looked  so  loving,  so  eager,  so  soiTOwful  that  he 
could  not  say  Xo. 

"  Yes  ;  he  may  write." 

She  drew  his  head  towards  her  with  her  wet  hands,  and 
gave  him  a  kiss  the  very  gratitude  of  which  pamed  him. 

"  But  not  you,"  he  added,  trying  to  be  stern.  "  You 
must  not  write.  You  must  not  entangle  yourself  farther. 
I  want  to  make  inquiries.  I  must  have  time  in  this  mat- 
ter. I  will  not  be  hurried.  You  must  not  consider  your- 
self engaged,  Lillie.     I  cannot  allow  it." 

"  Oh,  you  will  inquire,  papa  ?"  implored  the  girl,  confi- 
dent that  Carters  character  would  come  imharmed  out 
of  the  furnace  of  investigation. 

"  Yes,  yes.  But  give  me  time.  This  is  too  important, 
too  solemn  a  matter  to  be  hurried  over.  I  will  see.  I  will 
decide  hereafter.  There.  Now  you  must  go  to  sleep. 
Good  night,  my  darling." 

"  Good  night,  dear  papa,"  she  murmured,  with  the  sigh 
of  a  tu-ed  child.     "  Forgive  me." 

It  was  near  morning  before  either  of  them  slept  ;  and 
both  came  to  the  breakfast  table  with  pale,  wearied  faces. 
There  were  dark  circles  around  Lillie's  eyes,  and  her 
head  ached  so  that  she  could  hardly  hold  it  up,  but   still 


From     Secession    to     Loyalty.        209 

she  put  on  a  piteous,  propitiating  smile.  She  hoped  and 
feared  unreasonable  things  every  time  that  her  father  spoke 
or  seemed  to  her  to  be  about  to  speak.  She  thought  he 
might  say  that  he  had  given  up  all  his  opposition  ;  and  in 
the  same  breath  she  dreaded  lest  he  might  declare  that  it 
must  be  all  over  forever.  But  the  conversation  of  the 
evening  was  not  resumed,  and  the  meal  passed  m  absorbed, 
anxious,  embarrassing  silence,  neither  being  able  to  talk 
on  any  subject  but  the  one  which  filled  their  tnoughts. 
An  hour  later  Lillie  suddenly  fled  from  the  parlor  to  her 
own  room.  She  had  seen  Carter  approaching  the  house  ; 
she  felt  certain  that  he  came  to  demand  her  of  her  father ; 
and  at  such  an  interview  she  could  not  have  been  j^resent, 
she  thought,  without  dymg.  The  mere  thought  of  it  as 
she  sat  by  her  window,  looking  out  without  seeing  any- 
thing, made  her  breath  come  so  painfully  that  she  wondered 
whether  her  lungs  were  not  afiected,  and  whether  she  were 
not  dcptmed  to  die  early.  Her  fatigue,  and  still  more  her  trou- 
bles, made  her  babyish,  like  an  invalid.  After  half  an  hour 
had  passed  she  heard  the  outer  door  close  upon  tne  visitor, 
and  could  not  resist  the  temptation  of  peeping  out  to  see 
him,  if  it  were  only  his  back.  He  was  looking,  with  those 
handsome  and  audacious  eyes  of  his  straight  at  her  win- 
dow. With  a  sudden  throb  of  alarm,  or  shame,  or  some 
other  womanish  emotion,  she  hid  herself  behind  the  curtain, 
only  to  look  out  again  when  he  had  disappeared,  and  to 
grieve  lest  she  had  given  him  ofi:ence.  After  a  while  her 
father  called  her,  and  she  went  down  trembling  to  the 
parlor. 

"  I  have  seen  him,"  said  the  Doctor.  "  I  told  him  what 
I  told  you.  I  told  him  that  I  must  wait, — that  I  wanted 
time  for  reflection.  I  gave  him  to  understand  that  it  must 
not  be  considered  an  engagement.  At  the  same  time  I 
allowed  him  to  write  to  you.  God  forgive  me  if  I  have 
done  wrong.    God  pity  us  both." 

Lilhe  did  not  thuik  of  asking  if  he  had  been  civil  to  the 
Colonel ;  she  knew  that  he  would  not  and  could  not  be 


210         Miss     Rave  x  el's    Conversion 

discourteous  to  any  human  being.  She  made  no  answer 
to  what  he  said  except  by  going  gently  to  him  and  kissmg 
him. 

"  Come,  you  must  dress  yourself,"  he  added.  The  regi- 
ment goes  on  board  the  transport  at  twelve  o'clock.  I 
promised  the  Colonel  that  we  would  be  there  to  bid  him — 
and  Captain  Colburne  good-bye." 

Dressing  for  the  street  was  usually  a  long  operation 
with  Lillie,  but  not  this  morning.  Although  she  reached 
the  station  of  the  Carrollton  railroad  in  a  breathless  con- 
dition, it  seemed  to  her  that  her  father  had  never  walked 
so  slowly  ;  and  on  board  the  cars  she  really  fatigued  her- 
self with  the  nervous  tension  of  an  involuntary  mental 
effort  to  push  forward  the  wheezy  engine. 

Carrollton  is  one  the  suburban  offshoots  of  Xew  Orleans, 
and  contains  some  two  thousand  inhabitants,  mostly  of 
the  poorer  classes,  and  of  Germanic  lineage.  Around  it 
stretches  the  tame,  rich,  dead  level  which  constitutes 
southern  Louisiana.  The  only  raised  ground  is  the  levee  ; 
the  only  grand  feature  of  the  landscape  is  the  Mississippi ; 
all  the  rest  is  greenery,  cypress  groves,  orange  thickets, 
flowers,  or  bare  flatness.  As  Lillie  emerged  from  the 
brick  and  plaster  railroad-station  she  saw  the  Tenth  and 
its  companion  regiments  along  the  levee,  the  men  sitting 
down  ill  their  ranks  and  waituig  patiently,  after  the  man- 
ner of  soldiers.  The  narrow  open  jDlace  between  the  river 
and  the  dusty  little  suburb  was  thronged  with  citizens ; — 
German  shopkeepers,  silversmiths,  &c.,  who  were  out  of 
custom,  and  Irish  laborers  who  were  out  of  work  ; — poor 
women,  (whose  husbands  were  in  the  rebel  army)  selling 
miserable  cakes  and  beer  to  the  enlisted  men ;  all,  white  as 
well  as  black,  ragged,  dirty,  lounging,  listless  hopeless ; 
none  of  them  hostile,  at  least  not  in  maimer;  a  dis- 
couraged, subduced,  stricken  population.  Against  the 
bank  were  moored  six  steamboats,  their  smoke-stacks,  and 
even  their  upper  decks,  overlooking  the  low  landscape. 
They  were  not  the  famous  floating  palaces  of  the  Mis- 


FEOii    Secession    to    Loyalty.         211 

ssisippi,  those  bad  all  been  carried  away  by  Lovell,  or 
burnt  at  the  wharves,  or  sunk  in  battle  near  the  forts; 
these  were  smaller  craft,  such  as  formerly  brought  cotton 
clown  the  Red  River,  or  threaded  the  shallows  between 
Lake  Pontchartrain  and  Mobile.  They  looked  more 
fragile  even  than  northern  steamboats ;  their  boilers  and 
machinery  were  unenclosed,  visible,  neglected,  ugly ;  the 
superstructure  was  a  card-house  of  stanchions  and  clap- 
boards. 

The  Doctor  led  Lillie  through  the  crowd  to  a  pile  of 
lumber  which,  promised  a  view  of  the  scene.  As  she 
mounted  the  humble  lookout  she  caught  sight  of  a  manly 
equestrian  figure,  and  heard  a  powerful  bass  voice  thunder 
out  a  sentence  of  command.  It  was  so  guttural  as  to  be 
incomprehensible  to  her ;  but  in  obedience  to  it  the  loung- 
ing soldiers  sprang  to  their  feet  and  resumed  their  ranks  ; 
the  shining  muskets  rose  straight  from  the  shoulder,  and 
then  took  a  uniform  slope ;  there  was  a  bustle,  a  mo- 
mentary minglmg,  and  she  saw  knapsacks  instead  of  faces. 

"  Battalion  !"  the  Colonel  had  commanded.  "  Shoul- 
der arms.     Right  shoulder  shift  arms.     Right  face." 

He  now  spoke  a  few  words  to  the  adjutant,  who  re- 
peated the  orders  to  the  captams,  and  then  signalled  to  the 
drum-major.  To  the  sound  of  drum  and  fife  the  right  com- 
pany, followed  successively  by  the  others  from  right  to 
left,  filed  doAvn  the  little  slope  with  a  regular,  resounding 
tramp,  and  rapidly  crowded  one  of  the  transports  with 
blue  uniforms  and  shuiing  rifles.  How  superb  iq  Lillie's 
eyes  was  the  Colonel,  though  his  face  was  grim  and  his 
voice  harsh  with  arbitrary  power.  She  liked  him  for  his 
bronzed  color,  his  monstrous  mustache,  his  air  of  matured 
manhoo/l ;  yes,  how  much  better  she  liked  him  for  bemg 
thirty-five  years  old  than  if  he  had  been  only  twenty-five  ! 
How  much  jDrouder  of  him  was  she  because  she  was  a 
little  afraid  of  him,  than  if  he  had  seemed  one  whom  she 
might  govern !  Presently  a  brilliant  blush  rose  like  a  sunrise 
upon  her  countenance.     Carter  had  caught  sight  of  them, 


212        Miss    Ravexel's     Conversion 

and  was  apj^roachmg.  A  wave  of  his  hand  and  a  stare  of 
his  imperious  eyes  drove  away  the  flock  of  negroes  who  had 
crowded  their  lookout.  The  interview  was  short,  and  to  a 
listener  would  have  been  unmteresting,  unless  he  had 
known  the  sentimental  relations  of  the  parties.  The  Doc- 
tor did  nearly  all  of  that  part  of  the  talking  which  was 
done  in  words ;  and  his  observations,  if  they  were  noted  at 
all,  probably  seemed  to  the  other  two  mere  flatness  and 
irrelevancy.  He  prophecied  success  to  the  expedition ;  he 
wished  the  Colonel  success  for  the  sake  of  the  good  cause ; 
finally  he  warmed  so  far  as  to  wish  him  personal  success 
and  safety.  But  what  was  even  this  to  that  other  question 
of  union  or  separation  for  life  ? 

Presently  the  Adjutant  approached  with  a  salute,  and  re- 
ported that  the  transport  would  not  accommodate  the 
whole  regiment. 

"  It  must,"  said  the  Colonel.  "  The  men  are  not  prop- 
erly stowed.  I  suppose  they  won't  stow.  They  hav'n't 
learned  yet  that  they  can't  have  a  state-room  apiece.  I 
well  attend  to  it,  Adjutant." 

Turnmg  to  the  Ravenels,  he  added,  "  I  suppose  I  must 
bid  you  good-bye.  I  shall  have  little  more  time  to  myself. 
I  am  so  much  obliged  to  you  for  coming  to  see  us  ofi*.  God 
bless  you  !    God  bless  you  !" 

Wlien  a  man  of  the  Colonel's  nature  utters  this  benedic- 
tion seriously  he  is  unquestionably  much  more  moved  than 
ordinarily.  Lillie  felt  this :  not  that  she  considered  Car- 
ter wicked,  but  simply  more  masculine  than  most  men : 
and  she  was  so  much  shaken  by  his  unusual  emotion  that 
she  could  hardly  forbear  burstmg  mto  tears  in  public. 
When  he  was  gone  she  would  have  been  glad  to  fly  im- 
mediately, if  only  she  could  have  found  a  place  where  she 
might  be  alone.  Then  she  had  to  compose  herself  to  meet 
Colburne. 

"  The  Colonel  sent  me  to  take  care  of  you,"  he  said,  as 
he  joined  them. 


From     Secession     to    Loyalty.         213 

"  How  good  of  him  !"  thought  Lillie,  meaning  thereby 
Carter,  and  not  the  Captam. 

"  Will  they  all  get  on  board  this  boat  ?"  she  inquired. 

"  Yes.  They  are  moving  on  now.  The  men  of  course 
hate  to  stow  close,  and  it  needed  the  Colonel  to  make  then 
do  it." 

"  It  looks  awfully  crowded,"  she  answered,  searching  the 
whole  craft  over  for  a  glimpse  of  Carter. 

The  Doctor  had  little  to  say,  and  seemed  quite  sad ;  he 
was  actually  thinking  how  much  easier  he  could  have  loved 
this  one  than  the  other.  Colburne  knew  nothing  of  the 
great  event  of  the  previous  evening,  and  so  was  not  mis- 
erable about  it.  He  hoped  to  send  back  to  this  girl  such  a 
good  report  of  himself  from  the  field  of  impending  battle 
as  should  exact  her  admiration,  and  perhaps  force  her  heart 
to  salute  him  Imperator.  He  was  elated  and  confident; 
boasted  of  the  soldierly,  determined  look  of  the  men ; 
pointed  out  his  own  company  with  pride  ;  proj^hesied  bril- 
liant success.  When  at  last  he  bade  them  good-bye  h^' 
did  it  in  a  light,  kindly  brave  way  wliich  was  meant  to 
cheer  up  Miss  Ravenel  under  any  possible  cloud  of  forebod- 
ing. 

"  I  won't  say  anything  about  being  brought  back  on  my 
shield.  I  won't  ever  j^romise  that  there  shall  be  enough 
left  to  fill  a  table-spoon." 

Yet  the  heart  felt  a  pang  of  somethmg  like  remorse  for 
this  counterfeit  gayety  of  the  lips. 

The  gangway  plank  was  hauled  in ;  a  few  stragglers 
leaped  aboard  at  the  risk  of  a  ducking;  the  regimental 
band  on  the  upper  deck  struck  up  a  national  air ;  the  ne- 
groes on  shore  danced  and  cackled  and  screamed  with 
childish  delight ;  the  noisy  high-pressure  engine  began  to 
sob  and  groan  like  a  demon  in  pain, — the  boat  veered 
slowly  into  the  stream  and  followed  its  consorts.  Two 
gunboats  and  six  transports  steamed  up  the  yellow  river, 
trailing  columns  of  black  smoke  athwart  the  blue  sky,  and 
away  over  the  green  levels  of  Louisiana. 


214         Miss     HxVtenel's     Coxversiox 

Now  came  nearly  a  weekof  anxiety  to  Lillie  and  trouble 
to  her  father.  She  Avas  -^vith  him  as  much  as  possible, 
partly  because  that  was  her  okl  and  loving  habit,  and 
partly  because  she  wanted  him  continually  at  hand  to 
comfort  her.  She  was  not  satisfied  with  seemg  him  morn- 
ing and  evening ;  she  must  visit  him  at  the  hospitals,  and 
go  back  and  forth  with  him  on  the  street  cars  ;  she  must 
hear  from  him  every  half  hour  that  there  was  no  danger 
of  evil  tidings,  as  if  he  were  a  newsj^aper  issued  by  extras ; 
she  must  keep  at  him  with  questions  that  no  man  could 
answer. 

"  Papa,  do  you  believe  that  Mouton  has  fifteen  thousand 
men  ?  Do  you  believe  that  there  will  be  a  great  battle  ? 
Do  you  believe  that  our  side  "  (she  could  call  it  our  side 
now)  "  will  be  beaten  ?  Do  you  believe  that  our  loss  will 
be  very  heavy  ?  What  is  the  usual  proportion  of  killed 
in  a  battle  ?  You  don't  knaw  ?  Well,  but  what  are  the 
probabilities  ?'' 

If  he  took  up  a  book  or  opened  his  cases  of  minerals,  it 
was,  "  Oh,  please  don't  read,"  or,  "  Please  let  those  stones 
alone.  I  want  you  to  talk  to  me.  When  do  you  suppose 
the  battle  will  haj)pen  ?  When  shall  we  get  the  first  news  ? 
When  shall  we  get  the  particulai-s  ?" 

And  so  she  kej^t  questioning ;  she  was  enough  to  won-y 
the  life  out  of  j^apa :  but  then  he  was  accustomed  to  be 
thus  worried.  He  was  a  most  patient  man,  even  in  the 
bosom  of  his  own  family,  which  is  not  so  common  a  trait 
as  many  persons  suppose.  One  afternoon  those  sallow, 
black-eyed  Hectors  at  the  corners  of  the  streets,  who  looked 
so  much  like  gamblers  and  talked  so  much  like  traitors, 
had  an  air  of  elation  which  scared  Miss  Ravenel ;  and  she 
accordinglp  hurried  home  to  receive  a  confirmation  of  her 
fears  from  Mrs.  Larue,  who  had  heard  that  there  had  been 
a  great  battle  near  Thibodeaux,  that  Weitzel  had  been  de- 
feated and  that  Mouton  would  certainly  be  in  tlie  city  by 
next  day  afternoon.  For  an  hour  she  was  m  an  agony  of 
unalleviated  terror,   for  her  comforter  had  not  returned 


From     Secession    to     Loyalty.         215 

from  the  hospital.     When  he  ^ame  she  ilew  upon  him  and 
ravenously  demanded  consolation. 

"  My  dear,  yon  must  not  be  so  childish,"  remonstrated^ 
the  Doctor.     "  You  must  have  more  nerve,  or  you  won't 
last  the  year  out." 

"  But  what  will  become  of  you  ?  If  Mouton  comes  here 
you  will  be  sacrificed — you  and  all  the  Union  men.  I  ^-ish 
you  would  take  refuge  on  board  some  of  the  ships  of  war. 
Do  go  and  see  if  they  will  take  you.  T  shan't  be  hurt. 
I  can  get  along." 

Ravenel  laughed. 

"  My  dear,  have  you  gone  back  to  your  babyhood  ?  I 
don't  believe  this  story  at  all.  When  the  time  comes  I 
will  look  out  for  the  safety  of  both  of  us." 

"  But  do  please  go  somewhere  and  see  if  you  can't  hear 
something." 

And  when  the  Doctor  was  thus  driven  to  pick  up  his 
hat,  she  took  hers  also  and  accompanied  him,  not  being 
able  to  wait  for  the  news  until  his  return.  They  could 
learn  nothing ;  the  journals  had  no  bulletms  out ;  the  Union 
banker,  Mr.  Barker,  had  nothmg  to  communicate ;  they 
looked  wistfully  at  headquarters,  but  did  not  dare  to  in- 
trude upon  General  Butler.  As  they  went  homeward  the 
knots  of  well-dressed  Catilines  at  the  corners  carried  their 
treasonable  heads  as  high  and  stared  at  Federal  uniforms 
as  insolently  as  ever.  Ravenel  thought  sadly  how  much 
they  resembled  in  air  the  well-descended  gentleman  to 
whom  he  feared  that  he  should  have  to  trust  the  happiness 
of  his  only  child.  Those  of  them  who  knew  him  did  not 
speak  nor  bow,  but  glared  at  him  as  a  Pawnee  might  glare 
at  the  captive  himter  around  whose  stake  he  expected  to 
dance  on  the  morrow.  Evidently  his  life  would  be  in 
peril  if  Mouton  should  enter  the  city ;  but  he  was  a  san- 
guine, man  and  did  not  believe  in  the  calamity. 

Next  mornmg,  as  the  father  set  off  for  the  hospital,  the 
daughter  said,  "  If  you  hear  any  thing,  do  come  right 
straight  and  tell  me." 


216         Miss     R  a  v  e  n  e  l  '  s     C  o  n  v  e  k  s  i  o  x 

Twenty  minutes  after waM  Ravenel  was  back  at  the 
house,  breathless  and  radiant.  "Weitzel  had  gained  a  vic- 
tory ;  had  taken  cannon  and  hundreds  of  prisoners ;  was  in 
full  march  on  the  rebel  capital,  Thibodeaux. 

"  Oh  !  I  am  so  happy  !"  cried  the  heretofore  Secessionist. 
"  But  is  there  no  list  of  killed  and  wounded  ?  Has  our 
loss  been  heavy  ?  What  do  you  think  ?  What  do  you 
think  are  the  probabilities  ?  How  strange  that  there  should 
be  no  list  of  killed  and  wounded !  Was  that  positively  all 
that  you  heard  ?  So  little  ?  Oh,  papa,  don't,  please,  go 
to  the  hospital  to-day.  I  can't  bear  to  stay  alone. — ^Well, 
if  you  must  go,  I  will  go  with  you." 

And  go  she  did,  but  left  him  in  half  an  hour  after  she 
got  there,  crazy  to  be  near  the  bulletm  boards.  During 
the  day  she  bought  all  the  extras,  and  read  four  descrip- 
tions of  the  battle,  all  precisely  alike,  because  copied  from 
the  same  official  bulletin,  and  all  unsatisfactory  because 
they  did  not  contain  lists  of  killed  and  wounded.  But  at 
the  post-office,  just  before  it  closed,  she  was  rewarded  for 
that  long  day  of  wearymg  inquiries.  There  was  a  letter 
from  Carter  to  herself,  and  another  from  Colbume  to  her 
father. 

"  My  dear  Lillie,"  began  the  first ;  and  here  she  paused 
to  kiss  the  words,  and  wipe  away  the  tears.  "  We  have 
had  a  smart  little  fight,  and  whipped  the  enemy  hand- 
somely. Weitzel  managed  matters  in  a  way  that  really 
does  him  great  credit,  and  the  results  are  one  cannon, 
three  hundred  prisoners,  possession  of  the  killed  and 
wounded,  and  of  the  field  of  battle.  Our  loss  was  tri- 
fling, and  includes  no  one  whom  you  know.  Life  and 
limb  being  now  doubly  valuable  to  me  for  your  sake,  I 
am  happy  to  inform  you  that  I  did  not  get  hurt.  I  am 
tu-ed  and  have  a  great  deal  to  do,  so  that  I  can  only  scratch 
you  a  line.  But  you  must  believe  me,  and  I  know  that 
you  will  believe  me,  when  I  tell  you  that  I  have  the  heart 
to  write  you  a  dozen  sheets  instead  of  only  a  dozen  sen- 
tences.    Good  bye,  my  dear  one. 

"  Ever  and  altooether  vours." 


From     Secessiox    to     Loyalty.       21  Y 

It  was  Lillie's  first  love  letter  ;  it  was  from  a  lover  who 
had  just  come  unharmed  out  of  the  perils  of  battle  ;  it  was 
a  "bLinding,  thrilling  page  to  read.  She  would  not  let  her 
father  take  it ;  no,  that  was  not  in  the  agreement  at  all ; 
it  was  too  sacred  even  for  his  eyes.  But  she  read  it  to 
him,  all  but  those  words  of  endearment ;  all  but  those 
very  words  that  to  her  were  the  most  precious  of  all.  In 
return  he  handed  her  Colburne's  epistle,  which  was  also 
brief. 

"  My  dear  Doctor, — I  have  had  the  greatest  pleasure 
of  my  whole  life ;  I  have  fought  under  the  flag  of  my 
country,  and  seen  it  victorious.  I  have  not  time  to  write 
particulars,  but  you  will  of  course  get  them  in  the  papers. 
Our  regiment  behaved  most  nobly,  our  Colonel  proved 
himself  a  hero,  and  our  General  a  genius.  We  are  en- 
camped for  the  night  on  the  field  of  battle,  cold  and  hun- 
gry, but  brimming  over  with  pride  and  happiness.  There 
may  be  another  battle  to-morrow,  but  be  sure  that  we  shall 
conquer.  Our  men  were  greenhorns  yesterday,  but'  they 
are  veterans  to-day,  and  will  face  any  thing.  Ask  Miss 
Ravenel  if  she  will  not  turn  loyal  for  the  sake  of  our  gal- 
lant little  army.     It  deserves  even  that  compliment. 

"  Truly  yours." 

"  He  doesn't  say  that  he  is  unhurt,"  observed  the  Doc- 
tor. 

"  Of  course  he  is,"  answered  Lillie,  not  willing  to  sup- 
pose for  him  the  honor  of  a  wound  when  her  paragon  had 
none.  "  Colonel  Carter  says  that  the  loss  includes  no  one 
whom  we  know." 

"  He  is  a  noble  fellow,"  pursued  the  Doctor,  still  dwell- 
ing on  the  young  man's  magnanimity  in  not  thinking  to 
speak  of  himself.  "  He  is  the  most  truly  heroic,  chivalrous 
gentleman  that  I  know.     He  is  one  of  nature's  noblemen." 

Lillie  was  piqued  at  these  praises  of  Colburne,  not  con- 
sidering him  half  so  fine  a  character  as  Carter,  m  eulogy 
K 


218         Miss     Ravenel's     Conversion 

of  whom  her  father  said  nothing.  She  thought  of  asking 
him  if  he  had  noticed  how  the  Captain  spoke  of  the  Col- 
onel as  a  hero — ^but  concluded  not  to  do  it,  for  fear  he 
might  reply  that  the  latter  ought  to  have  paid  the  former 
the  same  compliment.  She  felt  that  for  the  present,  until 
her  father's  prejudices  should  wear  away,  she  must  be 
contented  with  deifying  her  Achilles  alone.  Notwith- 
standing this  pettish  annoyance,  grievous  as  it  was  to  a 
most  loving  spirit  strongly  desirous  of  sympathy,  the  rest 
of  the  day  passed  delightfully,  the  time  being  divided  be- 
tween frequent  readings  of  Carter's  letter,  and  intervals  of 
meditation  thereon.  The  epistle  which  her  father  wrote 
to  the  Colonel  was  also  thoroughly  read,  and  was  in  fact 
so  emendated  and  enlarged  by  her  suggestions  that  it 
might  be  considered  her  composition. 


CHAPTER  XYI. 

colonel  cakter  gains  one  victory,  and  miss  ravenel 

ANOTHER. 

After  the  victory  of  Georgia  Landing,  the  brigade  was 
stationed  for  the  winter  in  the  vicinity  of  the  little  half- 
Creole,  half- American  city  of  Tliibodeaux.  I  have  not  time 
to  tell  of  the  sacking  of  this  land  of  rich  plantations ;  how 
the  inhabitants,  by  flying  before  the  northern  Yandals,  in- 
duced the  spoliation  of  their  own  property ;  how  the  ne- 
groes defiled  and  jDlundered  the  forsaken  houses,  and  how 
the  soldiers  thereby  justified  themselves  in  plundering  the 
negroes  ;  how  the  furniture,  plate  and  libraries  of  the  La- 
fourche planters  were  thus  scattered  upon  the  winds  of 
destruction.  These  things  are  matters  of  public  and  not 
of  private  history.  If  I  were  writing  the  life  and  times  of 
Colonel  Carter,  *or  of  Captain  Colburne,  I  should  relate 
them  with  conscientious  tediousness,  adding  a  description 


F  li  o  it     S  E  c  E  s  s  I  o  X    TO     Loyalty 


219 


in  the  best  style  of  modern  i^^ord-painting  of  the  windmg 
and  muddy  Bayou  Lafourche,  the  interminable  parallel 
levees,  the  flat  border  of  rich  bottom  land,  the  fields  of 
moving  cane,  and  the  enclosmg  stretches  of  swampy  forest. 
But  I  am  simply  Tvritmg  a  biography  of  Miss  Kavenel, 
illustrated  by  skretches  of  her  three  or  four  relatives  and 
intimates. 

To  reward  Colonel  Carter  for  his  gallantry  at  Georgia 
Landmg,  and  to  compensate  him  for  his  disappointment 
in  not  obtaining  the  star  of  a  brigadier,  the  commanding 
general  appomted  him  military  governor  of  Louisiana,  and 
stationed  him  at  Xew  Orleans. 

In  his  present  temper  and  with  his  present  intentions 
he  was  smcerely  delighted  to  obtam  the  generous  loot. of 
the  governorship.  In  order  to  save  up  money  for  his  ap- 
proachmg  married  life,  he  tried  to  be  economical,  and 
actually  thought  that  he  was  so,  although  he  regularly 
spent  the  monthly  two  hundred  and  twenty-two  dollars 
of  his  colonelcy.  But  the  position  of  governor  would  give 
him  several  thousands  a  year,  and  these  thousands  he  could 
and  would  put  aside  to  comfort  and  adorn  his  future  wife. 
Kow-a-days  there  was  no  private  and  unwarrantable  at- 
tachment to  his  housekeeping  establishment;  the  pure 
love  that  was  in  his  heart  overthrew  and  drove  out  all 
the  unclean  spirits  who  were  its  enemies.  Moreover,  he 
rapidly  cut  down  his  drinkuig  habits,  first  prunmg  ofi"  his 
cocktails  before  breakfast,  then  his  absmthe  before  dinner, 
then  liis  afternoon  whiskeys  straight,  then  his  convivial 
eyenmg  punches,  and  in  short  everything  but  the  hot 
night-cap  with  which  he  prepared  himself  for  slumber. 

"  That  may  have  to  go,  too,"  he  said  to  himself,  "  when  I 
am  married." 

He  spent  every  spare  moment  with  Lillie  and  her  father. 
He  was  quite  happy  m  his  love-born  sanctification  of  sj^irit, 
and  showed  it  in  his  air,  countenance  and  conversation! 
Man  of  the  world  as  he  was,  or  thought  he  was,  roue  as 
he  had  been,  it  never  occurred  to  him  to  wonder  at  the 


220         Miss     Ravenel's     Cox  version 

o 

change  which  had  come  over  him,  nor  to  laugh  at  him- 
self because  of  it.  To  a  nature  so  simply  passionate  as 
his,  the  present  hour  of  passion  was  the  only  hour  that  he 
could  realize.  He  shortly  came  to  feel  as  if  he  had  never 
lived  any  other  life  than  this  which  he  was  living  now. 

The  Doctor  soon  lost  his  keen  distrust  of  Carter ;  he  be- 
gan to  respect  him,  and  consequently  to  like  him.  Indeed 
he  could  not  help  being  pleased  with  any  tolerable  person 
who  pleased  his  daughter ;  although  he  sometimes  exhib- 
ited a  petulant  jealousy  of  such  persons  which  was  droll 
enough,  considering  that  he  was  only  her  father. 

"  Papa,  I  believe  you  would  be  severe  on  St.  Cecilia,  or 
St.  Ursula,  if  I  should  get  intimate  with  them,"  Lillie  had 
once  said.  "  I  never  had  a  particular  friend  since  I  was 
a  baby,  but  what  you  picked  her  to  pieces." 

And  the  Doctor  had  m  reply  looked  a  little  indignant, 
not  perceiving  the  justice  of  the  criticism.  By  the  way, 
Lillie  had  a  similar  jealousy  of  him,  and  was  ready  to 
slander  any  single  woman  who  ogled  him  too  fondly. 
There  were  moments  of  great  anguish  when  she  feared 
that  he  might  be  inveigled  into  admiring,  perhaps  lovuig, 
perhaps  (horrid  thought !)  marrying,  Mrs.  Larue.  If  it 
ever  occurred  to  her  that  this  would  be  a  poetically  just 
retribution  for  her  own  sin  of  giving  away  her  heart  with- 
out asking  his  approval,  she  drew  no  resignation  from  the 
thought.  I  may  as  well  state  here  that  the  widow  did  oc- 
casionally make  eyes  at  the  Doctor.  He  was  oldish,  but 
he  was  very  charmuig,  and  any  man  is  better  than  no  man, 
She  had  given  up  Carter ;  our  friend  Colburne  was  Avith 
his  regiment  at  Thibodeaux  ;  and  the  male  angels  of  New 
Orleans  were  so  few  that  their  visits  were  far  between. 
So  those  half-shut,  almond  eyes  of  dewy  blackness  and 
brightness  were  frequently  turned  sidelong  upon  Ravenel, 
with  a  coquettish  significance  which  made  Lillie  uneasy  in 
the  innermost  chambers  of  her  filial  affection.  Mi's.  Larue 
had  very  remarkable  eyes.  They  were  the  only  features 
of  her  face  that  were  not  under  her  control :  they  were  so 


From     Secession     to     Loyalty.         221 

expressive  that  she  never  could  fully  veil  their  meaning. 
They  were  beautiful  spiders,  weaving  quite  visibly  webs 
of  entanglement,  the  threads  of  which  were  rays  of  daz- 
zling Hght  and  subtle  sentiment. 

"  Devilish  handsome  eyes  !  Dangerous,  by  Jove !"  re- 
marked the  Colonel,  judging  in  his  usual  confident,  broad- 
cast fashion,  right  rather  more  than  half  the  time.  "  I've 
seen  the  day,  by  Jove  !  when  they  would  have  finished 
me." 

For  the  present  the  Doctor  was  saved  from  their  perilous 
witchery  by  the  advent  of  Colbume,  who,  having  obtained 
a  leave  of  absence  for  ten  days,  came  of  course  to  spend 
it  with  the  Ravenels.  Immediately  the  Larue  orbs  kin- 
dled for  him,  as  if  they  were  pyres  whereon  his  passions,  if 
he  chose,  might  consume  themselves  to  ashes.  She  exhib- 
ited and  felt  no  animosity  on  account  of  bygones.  She 
was  a  most  forgiving,  cold-hearted,  good-natured,  selfish, 
well-bred  little  creature.  She  never  had  standing  quarrels, 
least  of  all  with  the  other  sex ;  and  she  could  practice  a 
marvellous  perseverance,  without  any  acrimony  in  case  of 
disappointment.  Colburne  was  favored  with  private  in- 
terviews which  he  did  not  seek,  and  visions  of  conquest 
which  did  not  excite  his  ambition.  He  was  taken  by  gen- 
tle force  up  the  intricate  paths  of  a  mountain  of  talk,  and 
shown  the  unsubstantial  and  turbulent  kingdoms  of  coque- 
try, with  a  hint  that  all  might  be  his  if  he  would  but  fall 
down  and  worship.  It  became  a  question  in  his  mind  whe- 
ther Milton  should  not  have  represented  Satan  as  a  female 
of  French  extraction  and  Xew  Orleans  education. 

"  Captain  Colburne,  you  do  not  like  women,"  she  once 
said. 

"  I  beg  your  pardon — I  repel  the  horrible  accusation." 

"  Oh,  I  admit  that  you  like  a  woman — this  one,  perhaps, 
or  that  one.  But  it  is  the  individual  which  interests  yoa, 
and  not  the  sex.  For  woman  as  woman — for  woman  be- 
cause she  is  woman — you  care  little." 

"  Mrs.   Larue,  it  is  a  very  singular  charge.     iN'ow  that 


222         Miss     Ravexel's     Converriox  * 

you  have  brought  it  to  my  notice,  I  don't  know  but  I  must 
plead  guilty,  to  some  extent.  You  mean  to  say,  I  suppose, 
that  I  can't  or  won't  fall  in  love  with  the  first  woman  I 
come  to,  merely  because  she  is  handy." 

"  That  is  precisely  it,  only  you  have  phrased  it  rather 
grossly." 

"  And  do  you  charge  it  as  a  fault  in  my  character  ?" 

"  I  avow  that  I  do  not  regard  it  as  so  manly,  so  truly 
masculme,  you  comprehend,  as  the  opposite  trait." 

"  Upon  my  honor  !"  exclaimed  Colburne  in  amazement. 
"Then  you  must  consider, — I  beg  your  pardon — but  it 
follows  that  Don  Juan  was  a  model  man." 

"  In  my  opuiion  he  was.  Excuse  my  frankness.  I  am 
older  than  you.  I  have  seen  much  life.  I  have  a  right  to 
philosophise.  Just  see  here.  It  is  intended  for  wise  rea- 
sons that  man  should  not  leave  woman  alone ;  that  he 
should  seek  after  her  constantly,  and  force  himself  upon 
her ;  that,  losing  one,  he  should  find  another.  Therefore 
the  man,  who,  losing  one,  chooses  another,  best  represents 
his  sex." 

She  waited  for  a  reply  to  her  argument,  but  Colburne 
was  too  much  crushed  to  ofier  one.  He  shirked  his  honest 
duty  as  an  interlocutor  by  saying,  "  Mrs.  Larue,  this  is  a 
novel  idea  to  me,  and  I  must  have  time  for  consideration 
before  I  accept  it." 

She  laughed  without  a  sign  of  embarrassment,  and 
changed  the  subject. 

But  Mrs.  Larue  was  not  the  only  cause  which  prevented 
Colburne's  visit  from  being  a  monotony  of  happiness.  He 
soon  discovered  that  there  was  an  understanding  between 
Colonel  Carter  and  Miss  Ravenel ;  not  an  engagement, 
perhaps,  but  certainly  an  inner  circle  of  confidences  and 
sentiments  into  which  he  was  not  allowed  to  enter.  In 
this  matter  Lillie  was  more  open  and  legible  than  her  lover. 
She  so  adored  her  hero  because  of  the  deadly  perils  which 
he  had  aflfronted,  and  the  honor  wliich  he  had  borne  from 
anion o-  theii'  flame  and  smoke,  that  she  could  not  always  con- 


o  Feom    Secession    to     Loyalty.         223 

ceal,  and  sometimes  did  not  care  to  conceal,  her  admira- 
tion. Xot  that  she  ever  expressed  it  by  endearments  or 
fondling  words :  no,  that  would  have  been  a  coarse  au- 
dacity of  which  her  maidenly  nature  was  incapable  :  but 
there  were  rare  glances  ot  irrepressible  meaning,  surprised 
out  of  her  very  soul,  which  came  like  revelations.  When 
she  asked  Colburne  to  tell  her  the  whole  story  of  Georgia 
Landing,  he  guessed  easily  what  she  most  wanted  to  hear. 
To  please  her,  he  made  Carter  the  hero  of  the  epic,  related 
how  impetuous  he  was  during  the  charge,  how  superbly 
cool  as  soon  as  it  was  over,  how  he  sat  his  horse  and 
waved  his  sabre  and  gave  his  orders.  To  be  sure,  the 
enthusiastic  youth  took  a  soldierly  j^leasure  in  the  history ; 
he  was  honestly  proud  of  his  commander,  and  he  loved  to 
tell  the  tale  of  his  own  only  battle.  But  notwithstanding 
this  slight  pleasure,  notwithstanding  that  the  Doctor 
treated  him  with  even  tender  consideration,  and  that  Mrs. 
Larue  was  often  amusing  as  well  as  embarrassmg,  he  did 
not  enjoy  his  visit.  This  mysterious  cloud  which  encom- 
passed the  Colonel  and  Miss  Ravenel,  sejDaratuig  them  from 
all  others,  cast  upon  him  a  shadow  of  melancholy.  In  the 
first  place,  of  course,  it  was  pamful  to  suspect  that  he  had 
lost  this  charming  girl ;  in  the  second,  he  grieved  on  her 
account,  not  believing  it  possible  that  with  that  man  for  a 
husband  she  could  be  permanently  happy.  Carter  was  a 
brave  soldier,  an  able  officer,  a  person  of  warm  and  natu- 
rally kind  impulses ;  but  gentlemen  of  such  habits  as  his 
were  not  considered  good  matches  where  Colburne  had 
formed  his  opinions.  No  man,  whatever  his  talents,  could 
win  a  professorship  in  Winslow  University,  or  occupy  a 
respectable  niche  in  N'ew  Boston  society,  who  rarely  went 
to  church,  who  drank  freely  and  openly,  who  had  been 
seen  to  gamble,  who  swore  like  a  trooper,  and  who  did 
other  things  which  the  Colonel  had  been  known  to  do. 
All  this  time  he  was  so  over-modest  by  nature,  and  so  op- 
pressed by  an  acquired  sense  of  soldierly  subordination, 
that  he  never  seriously  thought  of  setting  himself  up  as  a 


224  Miss     Ravexel's     Conversion 

rival  against  the  Colonel.  Perhaps  I  am  tedious  in  my 
analvsis  of  the  Captain's  opinions,  motives  and  sentiments. 
The  truth  is  that  I  take  a  sympathetic  interest  in  liim,  be- 
lieving him  to  be  a  representative  young  man  of  my  native 
iSTew  England,  and  that  I  consider  him  a  better  match  for 
Miss  Ravenel  than  this  southern  "  high-toned  "  gentleman 
whom  she  insists  upon  having. 

While  Colburne  was  feeling  so  strongly  with  regard  to 
Lillie,  could  she  not  devote  a  sentiment  to  him?  Xot 
many;  she  had  not  time;  she  was  otherwise  occupied. 
So  selfishly  wrapped  up  in  her  own  affections  was  she, 
that,  until  Mrs.  Larue  laughingly  suggested  it,  she  never 
thought  of  his  bemg  jealous  or  miserable  on  account  of 
her.  Then  she  hoped  that  he  did  not  care  much  for  her, 
and  was  really  sorry  for  him  if  he  did.  What  a  horrible. 
fate  it  seemed  to  her  to  be  disappointed  in  love  !  She  re- 
membered that  she  had  once  liked  hmi  very  much  indeed ; 
but  so  she  did  even  yet,  she  added,  with  a  comfortable 
closing  oflier  eyes  to  all  change  in  the  nature  of  the  senti- 
ment ;  and  perhaps  he  only  fancied  her  in  a  similar  Pla- 
tonic fashion.  Once  she  had  cut  out  of  a  paper,  and  put 
away  in  so  safe  a  place  that  now  she  could  not  find  it,  a 
little  poem  whicli  he  had  written,  and  which  was  only  in- 
terestino-  because  he  was  the  author.  She  blushed  as  she 
called  her  folly  to  mind,  and  resolved  that  it  should  never 
be  known  to  any  one.  It  is  curious  that  she  was  a  little 
vexed  with  Colburne  because  of  this  reminiscence,  and  felt 
that  it  more  than  repaid  him  for  all  the  secret  devotion 
wliicb  he  might  have  lavished  on  her. 

"  My  leave  of  absence  has  not  been  as  pleasant  as  I 
hoped  it  would  be,"  he  once  had  the  courage  to  remark. 

"  Why  not  ?"  she  asked  absent-mmdedly ;  for  she  was 
thinking  of  her  own  heart  affairs. 

"I  fear  that  I  have  lost  some  sympathies   which  I 


once- 


Here  he  checked  himself,  not   daring  to   confess  how 
much  he  had  once  hoped.      With  a  sudden  comprehension 


From     Secession     to     Loyalty.        225 

of  his  meaning  Lillie  colored  intensely,  after  her  usual 
fashion  on  startlkig  occasions,  and  glanced  about  the  room 
in  search  of  some  other  subject  of  conversation. 

"  I  have  a  sense  of  bemg  a  stranger  in  the  family,"  he 
explained  after  a  moment  of  painful  silence. 

She  might  surely  have  said  something  kind  here,  but 
she  was  too  conscientious  or  too  much  embarrassed  to  do 
it.  She  made  one  of  those  efforts  which  Avomen  are  ca- 
pable of,  and  sailed  out  of  the  difficulty  on  the  wmgs  of  a 
laugh. 

"  I  am  sure  Mrs.  Larue  takes  a  deep  interest  in  you." 

Colburne  colored  in  his  turn  under  a  sense  of  mortifica- 
tion mmgled  with  something  like  anger.  Both  were  re- 
lieved when  Doctor  Ravenel  entered,  and  thereby  broke  up 
the  fretting  dialogue.  Xow  why  was  not  the  young  man 
informed  of  the  real  state  of  affairs  in  the  family  ?  Simply 
because  the  Doctor,  fearful  for  his  child's  happiness,  and 
loth  to  lose  dominion  over  her  future,  could  not  yet  bring 
himself  to  consider  the  engagement  as  a  finality. 

There  were  no  scenes  during  the  leave  of  absence.  N'ei- 
ther  Colburne  nor  Madame  Larue  made  a  declaration  or 
received  a  refusal.  Two  days  before  the  leave  of  absence 
terminated  he  sadly  and  wisely  and  resolutely  took  his 
departure  for  Thibodeaux.  Xothing  of  interest  happened 
to  him  during  the  winter,  except  that  he  accompanied  his 
regiment  in  Weitzel's  advance  up  the  Teche,  which  re- 
sulted in  the  retreat  of  Mouton  from  Camp  Beasland,  and 
the  destruction  of  the  rebel  iron-clad  "  Cotton."  A  nan-a- 
tive  of  the  expedition,  written  with  his  usual  martial  en- 
thusiasm, but  which  imfortunately  I  have  not  space  to 
pubhsh,  was  received  by  Doctor  Ravenel,  and  declared  by 
him  to  be  equal  in  precision,  brevity,  elegance,  and  every 
other  classical  quality  of  style,  to  the  Commentaries  of 
Julius  Caesar.  The  Colonel  remarked,  in  his  practical 
way,  that  the  thing  seemed  to  have  been  well  planned, 
and  that  the  Captain's  account  was  a  good  model  for  a  de- 
spatch, only  a  little  too  long-winded  and  poetical. 
K2 


226  Miss     Ravenel's     Conveksion 

Colburne  being  absent,  Mrs.  Larue  turned  her  guns  once 
more  upon  the  Doctor.  As  the  motto  o]tan  Irishman  at  a 
Donnybrook  fair  is,  "  Wherever  you  see  a  head,  hit  it," 
so  the  rule  which  guided  her  in  the  Vanity  Fair  of  this 
life  was,  "  Wherever  you  see  a  man,  set  your  cajD  at  him." 
It  must  not  be  supposed,  however,  that  she  made  the  same 
eyes  at  the  Doctor  that  she  made  at  Colburne.  Her  man- 
ner would  vary  amazingly,  and  frequently  did  vary  to  suit 
her  company,  just  as  a  chameleon's  jacket  is  said  to  change 
color  according  to  the  tree  which  he  inhabits  ;  and  this 
was  not  because  she  was  simple  and  easily  influenced,  but 
precisely  because  she  was  artful  and  anxious  to  govern, 
and  knew  that  soft  looks  and  words  are  woman's  best 
means  of  emj^ire.  It  Avas  interesting  to  see  what  a  nun- 
like and  saintly  pose  she  could  take  in  the  presence  of  a 
clergyman.  To  the  Colonel  she  acted  the  part  of  Lady 
Gay  Spanker ;  to  the  Doctor  she  was  femme  raisonnahle^ 
and,  so  far  as  she  could  be,  femme  savante  ;  to  Colburne 
she  of  late  generally  played  the  female  Platonic  j^hiloso- 
pher.  It  really  annoys  me  to  reflect  how  little  space  I 
must  allow  myself  for  paintmg  the  character  of  this  re- 
markable woman.  "  She  was  nobody's  fool  but  her  own," 
remarked  the  Colonel,  who  understood  her  in  a  coarse, 
incomplete  way ;  nor  did  she  deceive  either  Lillie  or  the 
Doctor  in  regard  to  the  main  features  of  her  character, 
although  they  had  no  suspicion  how  far  she  could  carry 
some  of  her  secret  caprices.  It  is  hard  to  blind  completely 
the  eyes  of  one's  own  family  and  daily  intimates. 

As  a  hen  is  in  trouble  when  lier  ducklings  take  to  the 
water,  so  was  Lillie's  soul  disturbed  when  her  father  was 
out  on  the  flattering  sea  of  Madame's  conversation.  Car- 
ter was  amused  at  the  wiles  of  the  widow  and  the  terrors 
of  the  daughter.  He  comprehended  the  aflair  as  well  as 
Lillie,  at  the  same  time  that  he  did  not  see  so  very  much 
harm  in  it,  for  the  lady  was  pretty,  clever,  young  enough, 
and  had  money.  But  nothing  came  of  the  flirtation — at 
least  not  for  the  present.     Although  the  Doctor  was  an 


Fko:^    Secession    to    Loyalty.  227 

eminently  sociable  being  and  indefatigably  courteous  to  all 
of  Eve's  daughters,  he  was  not  at  bottom  what  you  call  a 
ladies'  man.  He  was  too  much  wrapped  up  in  his  daugh- 
ter and  in  his  scientific  studies  to  be  easily  pervious  to  the 
shafts  of  Cupid ;  besides  which  he  was  pretty  solidly  cuir- 
assed  by  fifty-five  years  of  worldly  experience.  Madame 
even  felt  that  she  was  kept  at  a  distance,  or,  to  use  a  more 
corporeal  and  specially  correct  expression,  at  arm's  length, 
by  his  very  politeness. 

"  Doctor,  have  you  not  thought  it  odd  sometimes  that 
I  never  consult  you  professionally  ?"  she  asked  one  day, 
changing  suddenly  from  feimne  raisonnable  to  Lady  Gay 
Spanker. 

"  Really,  it  never  occurred  to  me.  I  don't  expect  to 
prescribe  for  my  own  family.  It  would  be  unfair  to  my 
brother  doctors.     I  believe,  too,  that  you  are  never  sick." 

"  Thanks  to  Heaven,  never  !  But  that  is  not  the  only 
cause.  The  truth  is — perhaps  you  have  not  noticed  the 
fact— but  you  are  not  married.  If  you  want  me  for  a  pa- 
tient, there  must  first  be  a  Mrs.  Ravenel." 

"  Ah  !  Yes.  Somebody  to  whom  I  could  confide  what  is 
the  matter  with  you." 

"  That  would  not  matter.  We  women  always  tell  our  own 
maladies.  Xo ;  that  would  not  matter  ;  it  is  merely  the 
look  of  the  thing  that  troubles  me." 

The  Doctor  had  the  air  of  being  cornered,  and  remained 
smiling  at  Mrs.  Larue,  awaiting  her  pleasure. 

"  I  do  not  propose  to  consult  you,"  she  continued.  "  I 
am  so  constantly  well  that  I  am  alnost  unhappy  about  it. 
But  I  do  think  seriously  of  studymg  medicine.  What  is 
your  ojDinion  of  female  doctors  ?" 

"  A  capital  idea  !"  exclaimed  Ravenel,  jumping  at  the 
change  of  subject.  "  Why  not  follow  it  up  ?  You  could 
master  the  science  of  medicine  in  two  or  three  years,  and 
you  have  ability  enough  to  practice  it  to  great  advantage. 
You  might  be  extremely  useful  by  making  a  specialty  of 
your  own  sex." 


228         Miss     Ravenel's     Conversion 

"  You  are  a  professor  of  theory  and  practice,  Doctor. 
Will  YOU  instruct  me  ?" 

"  Oh !  as  to  that — Elderkin  Avould  be  better.  lie  is  pre- 
cisely in  Avhat  ought  to  be  your  line.  I  think  that  out  of 
kindness  to  you  I  ought  to  say  No." 

"  Xot  even  if  I  would  promise  to  study  mmeralogy  also  ?" 

Ravenel  pondered  an  instant,  and  then  eluded  her  with 
a  story. 

"  That  reminds  me  of  a  chaffermg  which  I  overheard  in 
a  country  tavern  in  Georgia  between  a  Yankee  peddler 
and  an  indigenous  specimen.  The  Cracker  wanted  to 
sell  the  stranger  a  horse.  '  I  don't  care  particularly  for  a 
trade,'  says  the  Yankee,  '  but  I'll  buy  the  shoes  if  you'll 
throw  in  the  creetur.'  Medicine  is  a  great  science ;  but 
mineralogy  is  a  far  vaster  one." 

In  short,  the  Doctor  was  to  Madame  like  a  cold  cake  to 
a  lump  of  butter  ;  he  calmly  endured  her,  but  gave  her  no 
encouragement  to  melt  u2)on  his  bosom.  Just  at  this  time 
he  was  more  than  usually  safe  from  love  entanglements  be- 
cause he  was  so  anxious  about  Lillie's  position  and  pros- 
pects. He  made  what  inquiries  he  could  concerning  Car- 
ter's way  of  life,  and  watched  his  demeanor  and  conversa- 
tion closely  while  talkmg  to  him  with  the  politest  of  smiles. 
He  was  unexpectedly  gratified  by  discovermg  that  his  pro- 
posed son-in-law  led — at  least  for  the  present — a  sober  and 
decent  life.  "With  his  devotion  as  a  lover  no  fault  could 
be  found  by  the  most  exactmg  of  fathers.  He  called  on 
Lillie  every  evenmg  and  sent  her  flowers  every  mornmg  ; 
hi  short,  he  bloomed  with  fair  promise  of  being  an  aftec- 
tionate  and  even  uxorious  husband.  Gradually  the  Doctor 
weaned  himself  from  his  selfish  or  loving  susj^icions,  and 
became  accustomed  to  the  idea  that  from  this  man  his 
daughter  might  draw  a  life-long  happmess.  Thus  when  it 
happened,  late  in  January,  nearly  four  months  after 
the  declaration,  that  Carter  requested  to  be  informed  de- 
finitely as  to  his  prospects,  he  obtained  permission  to  con- 
sider the  aff^iir  an  enoiao-ement. 


From     Secessiox     to     Loyalty.         229 

"  You  know  I  can't  promise  wealth  to  Miss  Ravenel," 
he  said  frankly.  "  She  may  have  to  put  up  with  a  very 
simple  style  of  life." 

"  If  she  can't  be  contented,  I  shall  not  pity  her,"  an- 
swered the  Doctor.  "  I  don't  believe  that  the  love  of  mo- 
ney is  the  root  of  all  evil.  But  I  do  say  that  it  is  one  of 
the  most  degrading  passions  conceivable  in  woman.  I 
sympathise  with  no  womSn  whose  only  trouble  is  that 
she  cannot  have  and  spend  a  great  deal  of  money.  By  the 
way,  you  know  how  unable  I  am  to  endow  her." 

"Don't  mention  it.  You  have  already  endowed  her. 
The  character  that  you  have  transmitted  to  her,  sir — " 

The  Doctor  bowed  so  j^i'omptly  and  appreciatively  that 
the  Colonel  did  not  feel  it  necessary  to  round  off  the  com- 
pliment. 

As  men  do  not  talk  copiously  with  each  other  on  these 
subjects,  the  interview  did  not  last  ten  minutes. 

I  hope  that  I  shall  not  impress  the  reader  unfavorably 
concerumg  Lillie's  character  when  I  state  that  she  was 
frankly  happy  over  the  result  of  her  lover's  probation.  Her 
delight  did  not  arise  merely  from  the  prospect  of  a  smooth 
course  of  love  and  marriage.  It  sprang  in  part  from  the 
greatly  comfortmg  fact  that  now  there  was  no  difference 
of  opinion,  no  bar  to  perfect  sympathy,  between  her  and 
that  loved,  respected,  almost  adored  papa.  I  have  given  a 
very  imperfect  idea  of  her  if  I  have  not  already  made  it  clear 
that  with  her  the  sentiment  of  filial  affection  was  almost  a 
passion.  From  very  early  childhood  she  had  been  remark- 
able for  papa-worship,  or  whatever  may  be  the  learned 
name  for  the  canonization  of  one's  progenitors.  At  the 
age  of  seven  she  had  propounded  the  question,  "  Mamma, 
why  don't  they  make  papa  President  of  the  United  States  ?" 
Some  light  may  be  shed  on  the  character  of  this  departed 
mother  and  wife  by  stating  that  her  answer  was,  "  My 
dear,  your  father  never  chose  to  meddle  m  politics."  Whe- 
ther Mrs.  Ravenel  actually  deified  the  Doctor  with  all  the 
simple  faith  of  the  child,  or  whether  the  reply  was  merely 


230         Miss     R  a  v  e  n  e  l  '  s     Conversion 

meant  to  confirm  the  latter  in  her  filial  piety,  is  a  matter  oi 
doubt  even  to  persons  who  were  well  acquainted  with  the 
deceased  ladj^ 

At  last  Lillie  could  prattle  to  her  father  about  Carter  as 
much  as  she  liked  ;  and  she  used  the  privilege  freely,  being 
habituated  to  need,  demand  and  obtain  his  sympathies. 
Xot  that  she  filled  his  ears  with  confessions  of  love,  or  said 
that  Colonel  Carter  was  "  so  handsome  !"  or  anything  of 
that  sickish  nature.  But  when  her  father  came  in  from  a 
w'alk,  it  was,  "  Papa,  did  you  see  Mr.  Carter  anywhere  ? 
And  what  did  he  say  ?"  At  another  time  it  was,  "  Papa, 
did  Mr.  Carter  ever  tell  you  about  his  first  campaign 
against  the  Indians  ?"  And  then  would  follow  the  story, 
related  with  glee  and  a  humorous  appreciation  of  the 
grandiloquent  ideas  of  a  juvenile  West  Pomter  about  to 
draw  his  maiden  sword.  A  frequent  subject  of  her  conversa- 
tion was  Carter's  chance  of  promotion,  not  considered  with 
regard  to  the  pecuniary  advantages  thereof,  but  m  respect 
to  the  simple  justice  of  advancing  such  an  able  and  gal- 
lant oflicer.  It  was,  "  Papa,  how  can  the  Government  be 
so  stupid  as  to  neglect  men  who  know  their  duties  ?  Mrs. 
Larue  says  that  the  abolitionists  are  opposed  to  Mr.  Carter 
because  he  doesn't  hold  their  ultra  opmions.  I  suppose 
they  would  rather  favor  a  man  who  talks  as  they  do,  even 
if  he  got  Avhipped  every  time,  and  never  freed  a  nigger. 
If  Mr.  Carter  were  on  the  southern  side,  he  would  find 
promotion  fast  enough.  It  is  enough  to  make  any  one 
turn  rebel." 

"  My  dear,"  says  the  Doctor  with  emphasis,  "  I  would 
rather  be  a  private  soldier  under  the  flag  of  my 
country,  than  be  a  major-general  in  the  army  of  those 
villainous  conspirators  against  country,  liberty  and  human- 
ity. I  respect  Colonel  Carter  for  holding  fast  to  his 
patriotic  sentiments,  in  spite  of  unjust  neglect,  far  more 
than  I  would  if  he  were  loyal  merely  because  he  was  sure 
of  being  commander-m-chief. 

Lillie  could  not  fail  to  be  gratified  by  such  a  compliment 


From    Secession    to    Loyalty.         231 

to  the  moral  worth  of  her  hero.  After  a  few  moments  of 
ao'reeable  meditation  on  the  various  perfections  of  that 
great  bemg,  she  resumed  the  old  subject. 

"  I  think  that  there  is  a  chance  yet  of  his  gettmg  a  star 
when  the  official  report  of  the  battle  of  Georgia  Landing 
once  reaches  the  minds  of  those  slow  creatures  at  Washing- 
ton. "What  do  you  think,  j^apa  ?  What  are  the  proba- 
bilities ?" 

"  Really,  my  dear,  you  perplex  me.  Prophecy  never 
formed  a  part  of  my  education.  There  are  even  a  few 
events  in  the  past  that  I  am  not  ultimately  acquainted 
with." 

"  Then  you  shouldn't  look  so  awfully  old,  papa.  If  you 
will  wrinkle  up  your  forehead  in  that  venerable  way,  as  if 
you  were  the  Wandering  Jew,  you  must  expect  to  have 
people  ask  you  all  sorts  of  questions.  Why  will  you  do 
it  ?  I  hate  to  see  you  making  yourself  so  aggravatingiy 
ancient  when  nature  does  her  best  to  keep  you  young." 

About  these  times  the  Doctor  wrote,  with  a  pitying  if 
not  a  sad  heart,  to  inform  Colburne  of  the  engagement. 
The  young  man  had  looked  for  some  such  news,  but  it 
nevertheless  pained  him  beyond  his  anticipations.  Ko 
mental  pre^^aration,  no  melancholy  certamty  of  forecast, 
ever  quite  fits  us  to  meet  the  avalanche  of  a  great  calamity. 
1^0  matter,  for  mstance,  how  long  we  have  watched  the 
sure  invasion  of  disease  upon  the  life  of  a  dear  friend  or 
relative,  we  are  always  astonished  with  a  mighty  shock 
when  the  last  feeble  breath  leaves  the  wasted  body.  Col- 
burne had  long  sat  gloomily  by  the  bedside  of  his  dying 
hope,  but  when  it  expired  outright  he  was  seemingly  none 
the  less  full  of  anguished  amazement. 

"  Who  would  have  thought  it !"  he  repeated  to  himself 
"  How  could  she  choose  such  a  husband,  so  old,  so  worldly, 
so  immoral  ?  God  help  her  and  watch  over  her.  The 
love  of  such  a  man  is  a  calamity.  The  tender  mercies  of 
the  wicked  are  unintentional  cruelties." 

As  for  himself,  the  present  seemed  a  barren  waste  with- 


232  Miss     Ravenel's     Conversion 

out  a  blossom  of  happiness,  and  the  future  another  waste 
without  an  oasis  of  hope.  For  a  time  he  even  lost  all  de- 
sire for  promotion,  or  for  any  other  worldly  honor  or  suc- 
cess ;  and  he  would  not  have  considered  it  hard,  so  unde- 
sirable did  life  appear,  if  he  had  known  that  it  was  his  fate 
to  die  in  the  next  battle.  If  he  wanted  to  live  it  was  only 
to  see  the  war  terminate  gloriously,  and  the  stars  and 
stripes  once  more  flying  over  his  whole  country.  The  de- 
votional sentiments  which  his  mother  had  sown  through- 
out his  youth,  and  which  had  been  wanned  for  a  while 
into  some  strength  of  feeling  and  purpose  by  the  saintly 
glory  of  her  death,  struggled  anew  into  temporary  bloom 
under  the  clouds  of  this  second  bereavement. 

"  Kot  my  will  but  Thine  be  done,"  he  thought.  And 
then,  "  How  unworthy  I  am  to  repeat  those  words  !" 

There  were  certain  verses  of  the  Bible  which  whispered 
to  him  a  comforting  spnpathy.  Many  times  a  day  such  a 
phrase  as,  "  A  man  of  sorrows  and  acquainted  with  grief," 
repeated  to  him  as  if  by  some  other  self  or  guardian  angel, 
would  thrill  his  mind  with  the  plaintive  consolation  of 
requiems. 


CHAPTER  XYIL 

COLONEL      CARTER     IS     ENTIRELY     TICTORIOUS     BEFORE     HE 
BEGINS    HIS    CAMPAIGN. 

Towards  the  close  of  this  winter  of  1862-3  Banks  su- 
perseded Butler,  and  the  Xew  England  Division  expanded 
mto  the  Nineteenth  Army  Corps.  Every  one  who  was 
in  New  Orleans  during  that  season  will  remember  the 
amazement  with  which  he  and  all  other  persons  saw 
transport  after  transport  steam  up  the  nver,  increasing  the 
loyal  forces  in  and  around  the  city  by  at  least  ten  thou- 
sand men,  which  rumor  magnified  into  twenty-five  thou- 


From     Secession    to     Loyalty.  233 

sancl.  Where  did  they  come  from,  and  where  were  they 
going,  and  what  would  be  the  result  ?  Smce  the  opening 
of  the  war  no  expedition  of  magnitude  had  been  conducted 
with  similar  secrecy ;  and  every  one  argued  that  a  general 
who  could  plan  with  such  reticence  would  execute  with 
corresponding  vigor  and  ability.  While  the  Secessionists 
shrank  within  themselves,  seeing  no  more  hope  of  freeing 
Louisiana  from  Xorthern  Vandals,  our  Doctor  and  his 
fellow  Loyalists  exulted  in  a  belief  that  the  war  would  soon 
be  brought  to  a  triumphant  close. 

"  Three  mere  transports !"  exclaimed  Ravenel,  commg 
in  from  a  walk  on  the  leveo.  "  It  is  a  most  glorious  spec- 
tacle, this  exhibition  of  the  power  of  the  Republic.  It 
equals  the  greatest  military  efforts  of  the  greatest  military 
nations.  One  is  absolutely  remmded  of  consular  Rome, 
canying  on  the  war  with  Hannibal  in  Italy,  and  at  the 
same  time  sending  one  great  army  to  Spain  and  another  to 
Africa.  I  pin  my  faith  to  the  tail  of  General  Scott's  ana.- 
conda.  In  the  end  it  will  crush  Secessia,  break  every  bone 
in  its  body,  and  swallow  it.  I  think.  Colonel,  that  we 
have  every  reason  to  congratulate  ourselves  on  the  pros- 
pects." 

"  I  really  can't  see  it,"  answered  Carter,  with  a  lugu- 
brious laugh. 

"  How  so  ?    You  astonish  me." 

"  Don't  you  perceive  that  I  lose  my  Governorship  ?" 

"  Oh,  but — I  don't  anticipate  an  immediate  close  of  the 
struggle.    It  may  last  a  year  yet ;  and  during  that  time — " 

"That  is  not  the  point.  King  Stork  has  succeeded 
King  Log.  King  Stork's  men  must  have  the  nice  places 
and  King  Log's  men  must  get  out  of  them." 

"  Oh,  but  they  won't  turn  you  out,"  exclaimed  Lillie,  and 
then  blushed  as  she  thought  how  her  eagerness  might  be 
interpreted. 

"  We  shall  see,"  answered  the  Colonel  gravely,  and  al- 
most sadly.     He  was  so  much  m  love  with  this  girl  that  a 


234         Miss     Raven  el's     Conversion 

« 
life  in  Capua  with  her  seemed  more  desirable  tlian  tlie 
winning  of  Cannai's  away  from  her. 

"  Here  is  my  fate,"  he  said  when  he  called  on  the  fol- 
lowing evening,  and  handed  her  two  official  documents, 
the  one  relieving  him  from  his  position  as  Military  Gov- 
ernor, the  other  assigning  him  to  the  command  of  a  bri- 
gade. 

"!N'ow  you  must  go  into  the  battle  again,"  she  said, 
makmg  a  struggle  to  preserve  her  self-possession. 

"  I  am  sorry, — on  your  account." 

At  this  answer  her  effort  at  stoicism  and  maidenly 
dignity  failed  ;  she  dropped  her  head  and  hid  her  face  in 
the  sewing  work  on  which  she  had  been  engaged.  This 
was  too  much  for  Carter,  to  whom  love  had  been  a  reju- 
venation and  almost  a  regeneration,  so  that  he  was  as  gen- 
tle, virginal,  and  sensitive  as  if  he  had  never  known  the 
hardenmg  experiences  of  a  soldier  and  a  man  about  town. 
Sitting  down  beside  his  betrothed,  he  pressed  her  temples 
with  both  his  hands  and  kissed  the  light,  flossy,  amber- 
colored  ripples  of  her  hair.  He  could  feel  the  half-sup- 
pressed sobs  which  trembled  through  her  frame,  breaking 
softly  and  noiselessly,  like  summer  waves  dying  on  a  reedy 
shore.  How  he  longed  to  soothe  her  by  graspmg  all  her 
being  into  his  and  making  her  altogether  his  ovrn  !  He 
was  on  the  point  of  falling  before  the  temptation  which  he 
had  that  morning  resolved  to  resist.  He  knew  that  he 
ought  not  to  marry,  with  only  his  colonelcy  as  a  support ; 
yet  he  was  about  to  urge  an  immediate  marriage,  and 
would  have  done  so  had  he  spoken.  Lillie  would  not 
have  refused  him :  it  would  not  have  been  in  the  nature 
of  woman  :  what  girl  would  put  off  a  lover  who  was  gomg 
to  the  battle-field  ?  Xothing  prevented  the  consummation 
of  this  imprudence  but  a  ring  at  the  door-bell.  Miss  Rav- 
enel  sprang  up  and  fled  from  the  parlor,  fearful  of  being 
caught  with  tears  on  her  cheeks  and  her  hair  disordered. 
Mrs.  Larue  entered,  gave  the  Colonel  a  saucy  courtesy, 
cast  a  keen  sidelong  glance  at  his  serious  countenanco, 


From    Secession    to    Loyalty.         235 

repressed  apparently  some  flippant  remark  which  was  on 
her  Hps,  begged  him  to  excuse  her  for  a  few  moments,  and 
slid  out  of  the  room. 

"  Confound  her  !"  muttered  the  Colonel,  indignant  at 
Madame  without  cause,  merely  because  he  had  been  inter- 
rupted. 

By  the  time  that  Lillie  had  dried  her  eyes,  washed  her 
face  and  composed  herself  so  far  as  to  dare  return  to 
the  parlor,  Mrs.  Larue,  ignorant  of  the  good  or  mischief 
that  she  was  accomplishing,  was  there  also.  Consequently, 
although  Carter  stayed  late  into  the  evening,  there  was  no 
second  opportunity  for  the  j^erilous  trial  of  a  tete-a-tete 
farewell. 

Xext  day  he  went  by  the  first  train  to  Thibodeaux.  As 
commanding^  ofiicer  of  a  brio-ade  he  exhibited  his  usual 
energy,  practical  ability,  and  beneficent  despotism.  The 
colonels  were  ordered  to  make  immediate  inspections  of 
their  regiments,-  and  to  send  in  reports  of  articles  necessary 
to  complete  the  equipment  of  their  men,  with  requisitions 
for  the  same  on  the  brigade  quartermaster.  During  seve- 
ral consecutive  days  he  personally  went  the  rounds  of  his 
grand  guards  and  outlying  videttes,  choosing  for  this 
purpose  midnight,  or  a  wet  storm,  or  any  other  time  when 
he  suspected  that  men  or  officers  might  relax  their  vigi- ' 
lance.  In  such  a  j^elting  rain,  as  if  the  Father  of  Waters 
had  been  taken  up  to  heaven  and  poured  back  into  Louisi- 
ana, he  came  upon  a  picket  of  five  men  who  had  sought 
refuge  in  some  empty  sugar-hogsheads.  The  closed-up 
heads  were  toward  the  road,  because  from  that  direction 
came  the  wind ;  and  such  was  the  pattering  and  howling 
of  the  tempest,  that  the  men  did  not  hear  the  tramp  of  the 
approachmg  horse.  Reining  up,  the  Colonel  shouted, 
"  Surrender  !     The  first  man  that  stirs,  dies  !'' 

jSTot  a  soul  moved  or  answered.  For  a  minute  or  two 
Carter  sat  motionless,  smiling  grimly,  with  the  water 
streaming  down  his  face  and  uniform.     Then  he  ordered  : 


236         Miss     Kayexel's     C  ox  version 

I 

"  Come  out  here,  one  of  you.  I  want  to  see  what  this 
picket  is  made  of." 

A  corporal  crawled  out,  leavmg  his  gun  behind  him  in 
the  recumbent  hogshead.  His  face  was  pale  at  his  first 
appearance,  but  it  turned  paler  still  when  he  recognized 
his  brigade  commander. 

"  I — I  thought  it  was  a  secesh,"  he  stammered. 

"  And  so  you  surrendered,  sir  !"  thundered  the  Colonel. 
"  You  allowed  yourself  to  be  surprised,  and  then  you  sur- 
rendered !  Give  me  your  name,  sir,  and  the  names  of 
your  men." 

Twenty  minutes  afterward  a  detachment  from  the  re- 
serve relieved  the  culj^rits,  and  marched  them  into  camp 
as  prisoners.  Xext  day  the  corporal  and  the  soldier  whose 
turn  it  had  been  to  stand  as  sentry,  went  before  a  court- 
martial,  and  in  a  week  thereafter  were  on  their  way  to 
Ship  Island,  to  work  out  a  sentence  of  hard  labor  with 
ball  and  chain. 

On  the  midnio-ht  followino^  this  adventure  Carter  or- 
dered  the  outlying  videttes  to  fire  three  rounds  of  musket- 
ry, and  then  rode  from  camp  to  camp  to  see  which  regi- 
ment got  into  line  the  quickest. 

The  members  of  his  stafi",  especially  his  Adjutant-Gene- 
'ral  and  Aid,  found  their  positions  no  sinecures.  Every 
night  one  or  other  of  these  young  gentlemen  made  the 
rounds  of  the  pickets  some  time  between  midnight  and 
daybreak,  and  immediately  on  his  return  to  head-quarters 
reported  to  the  Colonel  the  condition  of  the  Ime  as  regard- 
ed practical  efiiciency  and  knowledge  of  the  formalities. 
If  the  troops  fell  in  at  three  in  the  morning  to  go  through 
the  drill  of  taking  position  to  repel  an  imaginary  enemy, 
they  had  at  least  the  consolation  of  knowing  that  some 
poor  stalF-ofiicer  had  been  roused  out  of  bed  half  an  hour 
before  to  disseminate  the  order.  A  staff-ofiicer  mspected 
every  guard-mounting  and  every  battalion-drill,  and  made 
a  report  as  to  how  the  same  was  conducted.  A  staff-officer 
rode  through  every  regimental  camp  every  morning,  and 


From     Secession     to     Loyalty.         237 

made  a  report  of  its  condition  as  to  cleanliness.  If  the  ex- 
plosion of  a  rifle  was  heard  any  where  about  the  post,  a 
stafi'-officer  was  on  the  spot  in  five  minutes  to  learn  the 
circumstances  of  the  irregularity,  to  order  the  offender  to 
the  guard-house,  and  to  make  his  report  to  the  all-pervad- 
ing brigade  commander.  A  false  or  incomplete  statement 
he  did  not  dare  to  render,  so  severe  was  the  cross-ques- 
tioning which  he  was  liable  to  undergo. 

"  Did  you  see  it  yourself.  Lieutenant  ?"  the  Colonel 
would  ask. 

"  I  saw  the  man  cleaning  his  piece,  sir ;  and  he  confessed 
that  he  had  discharged  it  to  get  the  ball  out." 

"  Who  was  the  man  ?" 

"  Private  Henry  Brown,  Company  I,  Xinth  Barataria." 

"  Yery  well,  Mr.  Brayton."  •  (In  the  regular  army  a 
lieutenant  is  Mr.)  "  Xow  have  the  kindness  to  take  my 
compliments  to  the  Colonel  of  the  Xinth  Barataria  and  the 
fi^ld-oflicer  of  the  day,  and  request  them  to  step  here.". 

First  comes  the  commanding  officer  of  the  regiment  in 
which  the  offence  has  been  committed. 

"  Walk  in.  Colonel,"  says  the  brigade  commander. 
"  Take  a  seat,  sir.  Colonel,  a  rifle  has  been  fired  by  one 
of  your  men  this  morning.     How  is  that  ?" 

"  It  was  against  my  orders,  sir.  The  man  is  in  tho 
guard-house." 

"  This  is  not  the  first  oftence  of  the  kind — it  is  the  third 
or  fourth  within  a  week." 

"The  fact  is,  sir,  that  the  men  have  no  ball-screws. 
Their  rifles  get  wet  on  picket  duty,  and  they  have  no 
means  of  drawing  the  loads.  Consequently  they  are 
tempted  to  discharge  them,  notwithstandmg  the  orders." 

"  Ah  !  You  must  give  them  the  devil  until  they  learn 
to  resist  temptation.     But  no  ball-screws  !    How  is  that  ?" 

"  I  was  not  aware,  sir,  of  the  deficiency." 

"  Xot  aware  of  it  ?  My  God,  Colonel !  Xot  aware  of 
such  a  deficiency  of  equipment  in  your  own  regiment  ?" 

"  I  am  extremely  sorry,  sk,"  apologizes  the  humiliated 


238         Miss    Ravenel's,  Conversion 

Colonel,  who  does  not  know  what  might  be  done  to  him 
for  such  neglect,  and  who,  although  only  three  months  in 
the  service,  is  a  conscientious  officer,  anxious  to  do  his 
whole  duty. 

"  Send  up  a  requisition  for  ball-screws  and  for  every  other 
lacking  article  of  ordnance,"  says  the  brigade  commander. 
"  I  will  forward  it  to  head-quarters  and  see  that  you  are 
supplied.  But,  by  the  way,  how  did  this  fellow  get  out- 
side your  camp-guard  with  his  gun  ?  That  is  all  wrong. 
Have  the  goodness  to  haul  your  officer  of  the  guard  over 
the  coals  about  it.  Make  him  understand  that  he  is  re- 
sponsible for  such  irregularities,  and  that  he  may  get  dis- 
missed the  service  if  he  doesn't  attend  to  his  duties.  That 
is  all.  Colonel.  Will  you  take  a  glass  of  brandy  ?  Good 
morning,  sir." 

Then,  turnuig  to  the  Adjutant-General:  "  Captam,  make 
out  a  circular  directmsj  commandants  of  regiments  to  see 
that  targets  are  set  up  in  proper  places  where  the  relieved 
guards  may  discharge  their  rifles.  The  best  marksman  to 
be  reported  to  regimental  head-quarters,  and  to  be  relieved 
from  all  ordinary  duty  for  twenty-four  hours." 

The  field-officer  of  the  day  is  now  announced  by  the  or- 
derly. 

"  Come  in,  Captain ;  take  a  seat,  sir.  Are  you  aware. 
Captain,  that  a  rifle  has  been  fired  this  morning,  outside 
the  camps,  in  violation  of  general  orders  ?" 

"  I — I  think  I  heard  it,"  stammers  the  Captain,  taking 
it  for  granted  that  he  is  guilty  of  something,  but  not  know- 
ing what. 

"  Do  you  know  who  the  ofiender  is  ?"  demands  the  Colo- 
nel, his  brow  beginning  to  blacken  like  a  stormy  heaven 
over  the  ignoramus. 

"  I  do  not,  sii'.     I  will  inquii-e,  if  you  wish.  Colonel." 

"  If  I  wish  !  My  God,  sir !  of  course  I  wish  it.  Haven't 
you  already  inquired  ?  My  God,  sir !  what  do  you  sup- 
pose your  duties  are  ?" 


Fkom     Secession    to     Loyalty.        239 

"  I  didn't  know  that  this  was  one  of  them,"  pleads  the 
now  miserable  Captain. 

"  Don't  you  know,  sir,  that  you  are  responsible  for  eve- 
ry irregularity  that  happens  within  the  grand  guards  and 
outside  the  camps,  while  you  are  field-officer  of  the  day  ? 
Don't  you  know  that  you  are  responsible  for  the  firing  of 
this  rifle  ?" 

"Responsible,"  feebly  echoes  the  Captain,  not  seeing 
the  fact  as  yet,  but  nevertheless  very  much  troubled. 

"  Yes,  sir.  It  is  your  business,  if  any  thing  goes  wrong, 
to  know  it,  and  discover  the  perpetrators,  and  report  them 
for  punishment.  It  was  your  business,  as  soon  as  that 
gun  was  fired,  to  find  out  who  fired  it,  to  have  him  put 
under  guard,  and  to  see  that  he  was  reported  for  punish- 
ment. You  haven't  attended  to  your  duty,  sii\  And  be- 
cause tthe  officers  of  the  day  don't  know  and  don't  do  their 
duty,  I  have  to  make  my  staff-officers  ride  day  and  night, 
and  knock  up  their  horses.  Here  is  my  Aid,  who  has  been 
doing  your  business.  Mr.  Brayton,  give  the  Captain  this 
man's  name,  &c.  Do  you  know,  Captain,  why  muskets 
should  not  be  fired  about  the  camps  at  the  will  and  pleas- 
ure of  the  enlisted  men  ?" 

"  I  suppose,  sir,  to  prevent  a  waste  of  ammunition." 

"  Good  God  !  Why,  yes,  sir ;  but  that  isn't  all — that 
isn't  half,  sii\  The  great  reason,  the  all-important  reason, 
is  that  firing  is  a  signal  of  danger,  of  an  enemy,  of  battle. 
If  the  men  are  to  go  shooting  about  the  woods  in  this 
fashion,  we  shall  never  know  when  we  are  and  when  we 
are  not  to  be  attacked.  Without  orders  from  these  head- 
quarters no  firing  is  permissible  except  by  the  pickets,  and 
that  only  when  they  are  attacked.  This  matter  involves 
the  safety  of  the  command,  and  must  be  subjected  to  the 
strictest  discipline.  That  is  all.  Captain.  Good  morning, 
sir." 

As  the  poor  officer  of  the  day  goes  out,  the  heavens  seem 
to  be  peopled  with  threatening  brigade  commanders,  and 


240         Miss     Ravexel's     Con  version 

the  earth  to  be  a  Avilclerness  of  uiiexlored  and  thorny  re- 
sponsibilities. 

"  Well,  Mr.  Brayton,  T\diat  was  the  cause  of  the  firing  ?" 
inquired  Carter  one  midnight,  when  the  Aid  returned  from 
an  expedition  of  inquiry.  >^ 

"  A  sentmel  of  the  Ninth  shot  a  man  dead,  ^ir,  for  neg- 
lecting to  halt  when  challenged." 

"  Good,  by "  (this  and  that),  exclaimed  the  Colonel. 
*'  Those  fellows  are  redeeming  themselves.  It  used  to  be 
the  meanest  regiment  for  guard  duty  infthe  brigade.  But 
this  is  the  second  man  the  Ninth  fello^rs  have  shot  within 
a  week.  By"  (that  and  the  other)  "they  are  learnmg 
their  business.  What  is  the  sentinel's  name,  Mr.  Bray- 
ton  ?" 

"  Private  Henry  Brown,  Company  I.  The  same  man, 
sir,  that  was  punished  the  other  day  for  firing  ofi"  h^  rifle 
without  orders." 

"  Ah,  by  Jove  !  he  has  learned  something — learned  to 
do  as  he  is  told.  Mr.  Brayton,  I  wish  you  would  go  to 
the  Colonel  of  the  Ninth  in  the  morning,  and  request  him 
from  me  to  make  Brown  a  corporal  at  the  first  opportuni- 
ty-. Ask  him  also  to  give  the  man  a  good  word  in  an  or- 
der, to  be  read  before  the  regiment  at  dress  parade  to- 
morrow. By  the  way,  wRo  was  the  fellow  who  was  shot  ?" 

"  Private  Murj^hy  of  the  Ninth,  who  had  been  to  Thibo- 
deaux  and  over-stayed  his  j^ass.  He  was  probably  drunk, 
sir — he  had  a  half-empty  bottle  of  whiskey  in  his  j^ocket." 

"  Bully  for  him — he  died  happy,"  laughed  the  Colonel. 
"  You  can  go  to  bed  now,  Mr.  Brayton.  Much  obliged  to 
you." 

A  few  days  later  the  brigade  commander  looked  over 
the  proceedmgs  of  the  court-martial  which  he  had  con- 
vened, and  threw  doAvn  the  manuscript  with  an  oath. 

"  What  a  stupid — what  a  cursedly  stupid  record  !  Or- 
derly, give  my  compliments  to  Major  Jackson,  and  request 
him"  (here  he  rises  to  a  roar)  "  to  report  here  immedi- 
atelv." 


Fkom     Secession    to     Loyalty.       241 

Picking  up  the  manuscript,  he  annotated  it  in  pencil  un- 
til Major  Jackson  was  announced. 

"  My  God,  sir  !"  he  then  broke  out.  "  Is  that  your  style 
of  conducting  a  court-martial  ?  This  record  is  a  disgrace 
to  you  as  President,  and  to  me  for  selecting  you  for  such 
duty.  Look  here,  sir.  Here  is  a  private  convicted  oi 
beating  the  officer  of  the  guard — one  of  the  greatest  offen- 
ces, sir,  which  a  soldier  could  commit — an  offence  whicli 
strikes  at  the  very  root  of  discipline.  Xow  what  is  the 
punishment  that  you  have  allotted  to  him  ?  To  be  con- 
fined m  the  guard-house  for  three  months,  and  to  carry  a 
log  of  wood  for  three  hours  a  day.  Do  you  call  that  <a 
suitable  punishment  ?  He  ought  to  have  three  years  of 
hard  labor  with  ball  and  chain — that  is  the  least  he  ought 
to  have.  You  might  have  sentenced  him  to  be  shot.  Why, 
sir,  do  you  fully  realize  what  it  is  to  strike  an  officer,  and 
especially  an  officer  on  duty  ?  It  is  to  defy  the  very  soul 
of  discipline.  Without  respect  for  officers,  there  is  no  ar- 
my. It  is  a  mob.  Major  Jackson,  it  apj^ears  to  me  that 
you  have  no  conception  of  the  dignity  of  your  own  posi- 
tion. You  don't  know  what  it  is  to  be  an  officer.  That  is 
all,  sir.     Good  morning." 

"  Captain,"  continues  the  Colonel,  turnmg  to  his  Adju- 
tant-General, "  make  out  an  order  disapprovmg  of  all  the 
proceedings  of  this  court,  and  dkecting  that  ^lajor  Jack- 
son shall  not  again  be  detailed  on  court-martial  while  he 
remains  iinder  my  command." 

Carter  was  a  terror  to  his  whole  brigade — to  the  stupid- 
est private,  to  every  lieutenant  of  the  guard,  to  every  com- 
mandant of  company,  to  the  members  of  his  staff,  and  even 
to  his  equals,  in  grade,  the  colonels.  He  knew  his  business 
so  well,  he  was  so  invariably  right  m  his  fault-findings,  he 
was  so  familiar  with  the  labyrinth  of  regulations  and  gen- 
eral orders,  through  which  almost  all  others  groped  with 
many  stumblmgs,  and  he  was  so  conscientiously  and 
-gravely  outraged  by  offences  against  discipline,  that  he 
was  necessarily  a  dreadful  personage.     To  use  the  compo- 

L 


242        Miss    Ravenel's     Conversion 

site  expression,  half  Hibernian  and  half  Hebraic,  of  Lieu- 
tenant Van  Zandt,  he  was  a  regular  West  Point  Bull  of 
Bashan  in  the  volunteer  Chiua-shoj).  But  while  he  was 
thus  feared,  he  was  also  greatly  respected ;  and  a  word  of 
praise  from  him  was  cherished  by  officer  or  soldier  as  a 
medal  of  honor.  And,  stranger  still,  while  he  was  exer- 
cising what  must  seem  to  the  civilian  reader  a  hard-hearted 
despotism,  he  was  writing  every  other  day  letters  full  of 
ardent  aftection  to  a  young  lady  in  Xew  Orleans. 

In  a  general  way  one  is  tempted  to  speak  jestingly  of 
the  circumstance  of  a  well-matured  man  falling  in  love 
with  a  girl  in  her  teens.  By  the  time  a  man  gets  to  be 
near  forty,  his  moral  physiognomy  is  suj^posed  to  be  so 
pock-marked  with  bygone  amours  as  to  be  in  a  measure 
ludicrous,  or  at  least  devoid  of  dignity  in  its  tenderness. 
But  Carter's  emotional  nature  was  so  emphatic  and  volca- 
nic, so  capable  of  bringing  a  drama  of  the  affections  to  a 
tragic  issue,  that  I  feel  no  disposition  to  laugh  over  his 
affair  with  Miss  Bavenel,  although  it  was  by  no  means  his 
first,  nor  perhaps  his  twentieth.  Considering  the  passions 
as  forces,  we  are  obliged  to  respect  them  in  proj^ortion  to 
their  power  rather  than  their  dhection.  And  in  this  case 
the  direction  was  not  bad,  nor  foolish,  but  good,  and  high- 
ly creditable  to  Carter ;  for  Miss  Ravenel,  though  as  yet 
barely  adolescent,  was  a  finer  woman  in  brain  and  heart 
than  he  had  ever  loved  before ;  also  he  loved  her  better 
than  he  had  ever  before  loved  any  woman. 

He  could  not  stay  away  from  her.  As  soon  as  he  had 
got  his  brigade  into  such  order  as  partially  satisfied  his 
stern  professional  conscience,  he  obtained  a  leave  of  ab- 
sence for  seven  days,  and  went  to  Xew  Orleans.  From 
this  visit  resulted  one  of  the  most  important  events  that 
will  be  recorded  in  the  present  history.  I  shall  hurry  over 
the  particulars,  because  to  me  the  circumstance  is  not  an 
agreeable  one.  Having  from  my  first  acquaintance  with 
Miss  Ravenel  entertained  a  fondness  for  her,  I  never  could 
fancy  this  match  of  hers  ^\nth  such  a  dubious  person  as 


Feom    Secession    to    Loyalty.         243 

Colonel  Carter,  who  is  quite  capable  of  making  her  very 
unhappy.  I  always  agreed  with  her  father  in  preferring 
Colburne,  whose  character,  although  only  half  developed 
in  consequence  of  youth,  modesty,  and  Puritan  education, 
is  nevertheless  one  of  those  germs  which  promise  much 
beauty  and  usefulness.  But  Miss  Ravenel,  more  emotional 
than  reflective,  was  fated  to  love  Carter  rather  than  Col- 
burne. To  her,  and  probably  to  most  women,  there  was 
something  powerfully  magnetic  in  the  ardent  nature  which 
found  its  physical  expression  in  that  robust  frame,  that 
florid  brunette  complexion,  those  mighty  mustachios,  and 
darkly  burning  eyes. 

The  consequence  of  this  visit  to  New  Orleans  was  a  sud- 
den marriage.  The  tropical  blood  in  the  Colonel's  veins 
drove  him  to  demand  it,  and  the  electric  potency  of  his 
presence  forced  Miss  Ravenel  to  concede  it.  When  he  held 
both  her  hands  in  his,  and,  looking  with  passionate  impor- 
tunity into  her  eyes,  begged  her  not  to  let  him  go  again 
into  the  flame  of  battle  without  the  consolation  of  feeling 
that  she  was  altogether  and  for  ever  his,  she  could  only 
lay  her  head  on  his  shoulder,  gently  sobbing  in  speechless 
acquiescence.  How  many  such  marriages  took  place  dur- 
ing the  war,  sweet  flowers  of  afiection  springing  out  of 
the  mighty  carnage  !  How  many  fond  girls  forgot  their 
womanly  preference  for  long  engagements,  slow  prepara- 
tions of  much  shopping  and  needle- work,  coy  hesitations, 
and  gentle  maidenly  tyrannies,  to  fling  themselves  into  the 
arms  of  lovers  who  longed  to  be  husbands  before  they 
.  went  forth  to  die  !  How  many  young  men  in  uniform  left 
behind  them  weeping  brides  to  whom  they  were  doomed 
never  to  return ! 

"  Brave  boys  are  all,  gone  at  their  country's  call, 
And  yet,  and  yet. 
We  cannot  forget 
That  many  brave  boys  must  fall." 

This   sad  little  snatch  from  the  chorus  of  a  common- 
place song  Lillie  often  repeated  to  herself,  with  tears  in 


244  *         Miss     Ravenel's     Conveksion 

her  eyes,  wlien  Carter  was  at  the  front,  without  mindmof  a 
bit  the  fact  that  her  "  brave  boy  "  was  thirty-six  years  okl. 

The  marriage  cost  the  Doctor  a  violent  pang  ;  but  he 
consented  to  it,  overborne  by  the  passion  of  the  period. 
There  was  no  time  to  be  lost  on  bridal  dresses,  any  more 
than  in  bridal  tours.  The  ceremony  was  performed  in 
church  by  a  regimental  chaplain,  in  presence  of  the  flither, 
Mrs.  Larue,  and  half  a  dozen  chance  spectators,  only  two 
days  before  the  Colonel's  leave  of  absence  expired.  Neither 
then  nor  afterward  could  Lillie  realize  this  day  and  hour, 
through  which  she  walked  and  spoke  as  if  in  a  state  of 
somnambulism,  so  stupefied  or  benumbed  was  she  by  the 
strength  of  her  emotions.  The  lookers-on  observed  no 
sign  of  feeling  about  her,  except  that  her  face  was  as  pale 
and  apparently  as  cold  as  alabaster.  She  behaved  with  an 
appearance  of  j^erfect  self-possession ;  she  spoke  the  or- 
dained Avords  at  the  right  moment  and  in  a  clear  voice — 
and  yet  alt  the  while  she  was  not  sure  that  she  was  in  her 
riirht  mind.  It  was  a  frozen  delirium  of  feeling^,  ice  with- 
out  and  fire  within,  like  a  volcano  of  the  realms  of  the 
pole. 

Once  in  the  hackney-coach  which  conveyed  them  home, 
alone  with  this  man  who  was  now  her  husband,  her  mas- 
ter, the  ice  melted  a  little,  and  she  could  weep  silently  up- 
on his  shoulder.  She  was  not  wretched ;  neither  could  she 
distmctly  feel  that  she  was  happy  ;  if  this  was  happiness, 
then  there  could  be  a  joy  which  was  no  release  from  pain. 
She  had  no  doubts  about  her  future,  such  as  even  yet 
troubled  her  fiither,  and  set  him  pacing  by  the  half-hour 
together  up  and  down  his  study.  This  man  by  her  side, 
this  strong  and  loving  husband,  would  always  make  her 
happy.  She  did  not  doubt  his  goodness  so  much  as  she 
doubted  her  own ;  she  trusted  hun  almost  as  firmly  as  if 
lie  were  a  deity.  Yes,  he  would  always  love  her — and  she 
would  always,  always,  always  love  him  ;  and  what  more 
was  there  to  desire  ?  All  that  day  she  was  afraid  of  him, 
and  yet  could  not  bear  to  be  away  frofti  him  a  moment. 


Feom:    Secession    to    Loyalty.         245 

He  had  such  an  authority  over  her — his  look  and  voice 
and  touch  so  tyrannized  her  emotions,  that  he  was  an  ob- 
ject of  something  like  terror ;  and  yet  the  sense  of  his 
domination  was  so  sweet  that  she  could  not  wish  it  to  be 
less,  but  desired  with  her  whole  beating  brain  and  heart 
that  it  might  evermore  increase.  I  give  no  record  of  her 
conversation  at  this  time.  She  said  so  little  !  Usually  a 
talker,  almost  a  prattler,  she  was  now  silent ;  a  look  front 
her  husband,  a  thought  of  her  husband,  would  choke  her 
at  any  moment.  He  seemed  to  have  entered  into  her 
Avhole  being,  so  that  she  was  not  fully  herself.  The  words 
which  she  whispered  when  alone  with  him  were  so  sacred 
with  woman's  profoundest  and  purest  emotions  that  they 
must  not  be  written.  The  words  which  she  uttered  in  the 
presence  of  others  were  not  felt  by  her,  and  were  not 
worth  writing. 

After  two  days,  there  was  a  parting ;  perhaps,  she 
wretchedly  thought,  a  final  one. 

"  Oh !  how  can  I  let  you  go  ?"  she  said.  "  I  cannot.  I 
cannot  bear  it.  Will  you  come  back?  Will  you  ever 
come  back?  Will  you  be  careful  of  yourself?  You 
won't  get  killed,  will  you  ?     Promise  me." 

She  was  womanish  about  it,  and  not  heroic,  like  her 
Amazonian  sisters  on  the  Rebel  side.  Kevertheless  she 
did  not  feel  the  separation  so  bitterly  as  she  would  have 
done,  had  they  been  married  a  few  months  or  years,  in- 
stead of  only  a  few  hours.  Intimate  relations  with  her 
husband  had  not  yet  become  a  habit,  and  consequently  a 
necessity  of  her  existence ;  the  mere  fact  that  they  had  ex- 
changed the  nuptial  vows  was  to  her  a  realization  of  all 
that  she  had  ever  anticipated  in  marriage  ;  when  they  left 
the  altar,  and  his  ring  was  upon  her  finger,  their  wedded 
life  was  as  complete  as  it  ever  would  be.  And  thus,  in 
her  ignorance  of  what  love  might  become,  she  was  spared 
something  of  the  anguish  of  separation. 

She  was  thinking  of  her  absent  husband  when  Mrs. 
Larue  addressed  her  for  the  first  time  as  Mrs.  Carter  ;  and 


246        Miss    Ravenel's    Conversion 

yet  ill  her  dreaminess  she  did  not  at  the  moment  recog- 
nize the  name  as  her  own :  not  until  Madame  laughed  and 
said,  "  Lillie,  I  am  talking  to  you."  Then  she  colored 
crimson  and  throbbed  at  the  heart  as  if  her  husband  him- 
self had  laid  his  hand  upon  her  shoulder. 

Very  shortly  she  began  to  demand  the  patient  encour- 
agements of  her  father.  All  day,  when  she  could  get  at 
him,  she  pursued  him  with  questions  which  no  man  in 
these  unprophetic  days  could  answer.  It  was,  "  Papa,  do 
you  thmk  there  will  be  an  active  campaign  this  summer  ? 
Papa,  don't  you  suppose  that  Mr.  Carter  will  be  allowed 
to  keep  his  brigade  at  Thibodeaux  ?" 

She  rarely  spoke  of  her  husband  except  as  Mr.  Carter. 
She  did  not  like  his  name  John — it  sounded  too  common- 
place for  such  a  suj^erb  creature  ;  and  the  title  of  Colonel 
was  too  official  to  satisfy  her  affection.  But  "  Mr.  Carter  " 
seemed  to  express  her  respect  for  this  man,  her  husband, 
her  master,  who  was  so  much  older,  and,  as  she  thought, 
morally  greater  than  herself. 

Sometunes  the  Doctor,  out  of  sheer  pity  and  j^aternal 
sympathy,  answered  her  questions  just  as  she  wished 
them  to  be  answered,  telling  her  that  he  saw  no  prospect 
of  an  active  campaign,  that  the  brigade  could  not  possibly 
be  spared  from  the  irnportant  post  of  Thibodeaux,  etc.  etc. 
But  then  the  exactingness  of  anxious  love  made  her  want 
to  know  why  he  thought  so  ;  and  her  persevering  inquir- 
ies ■  generally  ended  by  forcing  him  from  all  his  hastily 
constructed  works  of  consolation.  In  mere  self-defence, 
therefore,  he  occasionally  urged  upon  her  the  unpleasant 
but  ennobling  duties  of  patience  and  self-control. 

"My  dear,"  he  would  say,  "we  cannot  increase  our 
means  of  happiness  without  increasing  our  possibilities  of 
misery.  A  woman  who  marries  is  like  a  man  who  goes 
into  business.  The  end  may  be  greatly  increased  wealth, 
or  it  may  be  bankruptcy.  It  is  cowardly  to  groan  over 
the  fact.  You  must  leam  to  accept  the  sorrows  of  your 
present  life  as  well  as  the  joys  ;  you  must  try  to  strike  a 


From    Secession    to    Loyalty.        247 

rational  balance  between  the  two,  and  be  contented  if  you 
can  say,  '  On  the  whole,  I  am  happier  than  I  was.'  I  beg 
you,  for  your  own  sake,  to  overcome  this  habit  of  looking 
at  only  the  darker  chances  of  life.  If  you  go  on  fretting, 
you  will  not  last  the  war  out.  Iso  constitution — no  wom- 
an's constitution,  at  any  rate — can  stand  it.  You  posi- 
tively must  cease  to  be  a  child,  and  become  a  woman." 
Lillie  tried  to  obey,  but  could  only  succeed  by  spasms. 


CHAPTER  XVni. 

DOCTOR     EAYENEL     COMMENCES     THE     OEGANIZALION     OF 
SOUTHERN   LABOR. 

For  some  time  previous  to  the  mamage  Doctor  Rav- 
enel  had  been  plotting  the  benefit  of  the  human  race.  He 
was  one  of  those  philanthropic  conspirators,  those  human- 
itarian Catilines,  who,  for  the  last  thirty  years  have  been 
rotten-egged  and  vilified  at  the  Korth,  tarred  and  feath- 
ered and  murdered  at  the  South,  under  the  name  of  aboli- 
tionists. It  is  true  that  until  lately^  he  has  been  a  silent 
one,  as  you  may  infer  from  the  fact  that  he  was  still  in  the 
land  of  the  living.  If  the  hundred-headed  hydra  had 
preached  abolition  in  Xew  Orleans  previous  to  the  advent 
of  Farragut  and  Butler,  he  would  have  had  every  one  of 
his  skulls  fractured  within  twenty-four  hours  after  he  had 
commenced  his  ministry.  Nobody  could  have  met  the 
demands  of  such  a  mission  except  that  gentleman  of  mii-a- 
culous  vitality  mentioned  by  Ariosto,  who,  as  fast  as  he 
was  cut  in  pieces,  picked  himself  up  and  grew  together  as 
good  as  new. 

The  Doctor  was  chiefly  intent  at  present  upon  inducing 
the  negroes  to  work  as  freemen,  now  that  they  were  no 
longer  obliged  to  work  as  slaves.     He  talked  a  great  deal 


248         Miss    Raven  el's     Conversion 

about  his  plan  to  various  influential  personages,  and  even 
pressed  it  at  department  headquarters  in  a  lengthy  private 
interview. 

"  You  are  right,  sir,"  said  Authority,  with  suave  dignity. 
"  It  is  a  matter  of  great  instant  importance.  It  may  be- 
come a  military  necessity.  Suppose  we  should  have  a 
Avar  with  France,  (I  don't  say,  sir,  that  there  is  any  danger 
of  it,)  we  might  be  cut  oflTrom  the  rest  of  the  Union.  Louisi- 
ana would  then  have  to  live  on  her  own  resources,  and  feed 
her  own  army.  These  negroes  mvst  be  induced  to  work. 
Tliey  must  be  put  at  it  immediately ;  they  must  have  their 
hoes  in  the  soil  before  six  weeks  are  over ;  other^tise  we 
are  in  danger  of  a  famine.  I  have  arranged  a  plan.  Doc- 
tor. The  provost-marshals  are  to  pick  up  every  unem- 
ployed negro,  give  him  his  choice  as  to  what  plantation  he 
will  work  on,  but  see  that  he  works  somewhere.  There  is 
to  be  a  fixed  rate  of  wages, — so  much  in  clothes  and  so 
much  m  rations.  Select  your  plantation,  my  dear  sir,  and 
I  will  see  that  it  is  assigned  to  you.  You  will  then  obtain 
your  laborers  by  makmg  Avritten  application  to  the  Super- 
intendent of  Xegro  Labor." 

The  Doctor  was  honestly  and  intelligently  delighted. 
He  expressed  his  admiration  of  the  commandmg  general's 
motives  and  wisdom  in  such  terms  that  the  latter,  high  as 
he  was  in  position  and  mighty  m  authority,  felt  flattered. 
Yoji  could  not  possibly  talk  with  Ravenel  for  ten  minutes 
Avithout  thinkuig  better  of  yourself  than  before  ;  for,  per- 
ceivmg  that  you  had  to  do  with  a  superior  man,  and  that 
he  treated  you  Avith  deference,  you  instinctively  inferred 
that  you  were  not  only  a  person  but  a  personage.  But 
the  compliments  and  ah*  of  respect  which  he  accorded  the 
commanding  general  were  not  mere  empty  civilities,  nor 
well-bred  courtesies,  nor  exjn-essions  of  consideration  for 
place  and  aiithority.  '  Ravenel's  enthusiasm  led  him  to  be- 
lieve that,  in  finding  a  man  who  sympathised  with  him  m 
his  pet  project,  he  had  found  one  of  the  greatest  minds  of 
the  age. 


FKOii     Secession    to     Loyalty.       249 

"At  last,"  he  said  to  his  daughter  when  he  reached 
home,  "  at  last  Tre  are  likely  to  see  wise  justice  meted  out 
to  these  poor  blacks." 

"  Is  the  Major-General  pleasant  ?"  asked  Lillie,  with  an 
inconsequence  which  was  somewhat  characteristic  of  her. 
She  was  more  interested  in  learning  how  a  great  dignitary 
looked  and  behaved  than  in  hearing  what  were  his  opin- 
ions on  the  subject  of  freemen's  labor. 

"  I  don't  know  that  a  major  general  is  obliged  to  be  plea- 
sant, at  least  not  in  war  time,"  answered  the  Doctor,  a 
little  annoyed  at  the  interruption  to  the  traui  of  his  ideas. 
"  Yes,  te  is  pleasant  enough  ;  in  fact  something  too  much 
of  deportment.  He  put  me  in  mind  of  one  of  my  adven- 
tures among  the  Georgia  Crackers.  I  had  to  put  up  for 
the  night  in  one  of  those  miserable  up-country  log  shanties 
where  you  can  study  astronomy  all  night  through  the 
chinks  in  the  roof,  and  where  the  man  and  wife  sleep  one 
side  of  you  and  the  children  and  dogs  on  the  other.  The 
family,  it  seems,  had  had  a  quarrel  with  a  neighboring 
family  of  superior  pretensions,  which  had  not  yet  culmin- 
ated in  acous^ino-  or  shootins;.  The  eldest  dauo-hter,  a 
ras^sred  girl  of  seventeen,  described  to  me  with  srreat 
gusto  an  encounter  which  had  taken  place  between  her 
mother  and  the  female  chieftain  of  the  hostile  tribe.  Said 
she,  "  Miss  Jones,  she  tried  to  come  the  dignerfied  over 
mar.  But  thar  she  found  her  beater.  My  mar  is  hell  on 
dignerty." — Well,  the  Major-General  runs  rather  too  luxu- 
riantly to  dignity.  But  his  ideas  on  the  subject  of  reor- 
ganizing labor  are  excellent,  and  have  my  earnest  respect 
and  approbation.  I  believe  that  under  his  administration 
the  negroes  will  be  allowed  and  encouraged  to  take  their 
first  certain  step  toward  civilization.  They  are  to  receive 
some  remuneration, — not  for  the  bygone  centuries  of  forced 
labor  and  oppression, — but  for  what  they  will  do  here- 
after." 

"  I  don't  see,  papa,  that  they  have  been  treated  much 
worse  than  they  might  expect,"  responds  Lillie,  who,  ah 


250         Miss     Ravenel's     Conversion 

though  now  a  firm  loyalist,  has  by  no  means  become  an 
abolitionist. 

"  Perhaps  not,  my  dear,  perhaps  not.  They  have  no 
doubt  been  better  off  in  the  Dahomey  of  America  than 
they  would  have  been  in  the  Dahomey  of  Africa  ;  and  cer- 
tainly they  couldn't  expect  much  from  a  Christianity  whose 
chief  corner-stone  was  a  hogshead  of  slave-grown  sugar. 
The  negroes  were  not  foolish  enough  to  look  for  much 
good  in  such  a  moral  atrocity  as  that.  They  have  put 
their  trust  in  the  enemies  of  it ;  in  Fremont  a  while  ago, 
and  in  Lincoln  now.  At  present  they  do  expect  some- 
thing. They  believe  that  '  the  year  of  jubilo  am  come.' 
And  so  it  is.  Before  this  year  closes,  many  of  these  poor 
creatures  will  receive  what  they  never  did  before — wages 
for  their  labor.  For  the  first  time  in  their  lives  they  will 
be  led  to  realize  the  idea  of  justice.  Justice,  honesty, 
mercy,  and  nearly  the  whole  list  of  Christian  virtues,  have 
hitherto  been  empty  names  to  them,  having  no  practical 
signification,  and  in  fact  utterly  unknown  to  their  minds 
except  as  words  that  for  some  unexplained  purpose  had 
been  inserted  in  the  Bible.  How  could  they  believe  in 
the  thmgs  themselves  ?  They  never  saw  them  practiced  ; 
at  least  they  never  felt  their  hifluence.  Of  course  they 
were  liars  and  hypocrites  and  thieves.  All  constituted 
society  lied  to  them  by  calling  them  men  and  treating 
them  as  beasts  ;  it  played  the  hyi^ocrite  to  them  by  preach- 
ing to  them  the  Christian  virtues,  and  never  itself  practis- 
ing them  ;  it  played  the  thief  by  takmg  all  the  earnmgs  of 
their  labor,  except  just  enough  to  keep  soul  and  body 
together,  so  that  they  might  labor  more.  Our  consciences, 
the  conscience  of  the  nation,  will  not  be  cleared  when  we 
have  merely  freed  the  negroes.  We  must  civilize  and 
Christianize  them.  And  we  must  begin  this  by  teaching 
them  the  great  elementary  duty  of  man  in  life — that  of 
working  for  his  own  subsistence.  I  am  so  interested  in 
the  problem  that  T  have  resolved  to  devote  myself  person- 
ally to  its  solution." 


FROii    Secession    to    Loyalty.       251 

"  What !     And  give  up  your  hospital  ?" 

"  Yes,  my  dear.  I  have  ah-eady  given  it  up,  and  got  my 
plantation  assigned  to  me." 

"  Oh,  papa  !     Where  ?" 

Of  course  Lillie  feared  that  in  her  new  home  she  might 
not  be  able  to  see  her  husband ;  and  of  course  the  Doctor 
divined  this  charmmg  anxiety,  and  hastened  to  relieve"  her 
fi'om  it. 

"  It  is  at  Taylorsville,  my  dear.  Taylorsville  forms  a 
part  of  Colonel  Carter's  military  jmisdiction,  and  the  fort 
there  is  garrisoned  by  a  detachment  from  his  brigade.  He 
can  come  to  see  us  without  neglecting  his  duties." 

Lillie  colored,  and  said  nothing  for  a  few  minutes.  She 
was  so  unused  as  yet  to  her  husband,  that  the  thought  of 
bemg  visited  by  him  thrilled  her  nerves,  and  took  t'empor- 
ary  possession  of  all  her  mind. 

"  But,  papa,"  she  presently  inquired,  "  will  this  support 
you  as  well  as  the  hospital  ?" 

"  I  don't  know,  child.  It  is  an  experiment.  It  may  be 
a  failure,  and  it  may  be  a  pecuniary  success.  We  shall 
certainly  be  obliged  to  economize  until  our  autumn  crops 
are  gathered.  But  I  am  willmg  to  do  that,  if  I  meet  with 
no  other  reward  than  my  own  consciousness  that  I  enter 
upon  the  task  for  the  sake  of  a  long  oppressed  race.  I  be- 
lieve that  by  means  of  kindness  and  justice  I  can  give  them 
such  ideas  of  industry  and  other  social  virtues  as  they 
could  not  obtain,  and  have  not  obtained,  from  centuries  of 
robbery  and  cruelty." 

Lillie  was  lost  in  meditation,  not  concerning  the  good 
of  the  blacks,  but  concerning  the  probable  visits  of  Colonel 
Carter  at  Taylorsville.  Aflectionately  selfish  woman  as 
she  was,  she  would  not  have  given  up  the  alarming  joy  of 
one  of  those  anticipated  interviews  for  the  chance  of  civil- 
izing a  capering  wilderness  of  negroes. 

Taylorsville,  a  flourishing  village  before  the  war,  is  sit- 
uated on  the  Mississippi  just  where  it  is  tapped  by  Bayou 
Rouge,  which  is  one  of  the  dozen  channels  through  which 


252  Miss    Ravenel's     Conversion 

the  Father  of  Waters  finds  the  Gulf  of  Mexico.  It  is  on 
the  western  bank  of  the  river,  and  for  the  most  part  on  the 
southern  bank  of  the  bayou  ;  and  is  protected  from  both 
by  that  continuous  system  of  levees  which  alone  saves 
southern  Louisiana  from  yearly  inundations.  At  the  time 
of  which  I  speak,  a  large  portion  of  the  town  consisted  oi 
charred  and  smoke-blackened  ruins.  Its  citizens  had  been 
mad  enough  to  fire  on  our  fleet,  and  Farragut  had  swept 
it  with  his  iron  besoms  of  destruction.  On  the  same  bank 
of  the  Mississippi,  but  on  the  northern  bank  of  the  bayou, 
at  the  apex  of  the  angle  formed  by  the  diverging  currents, 
is  Fort  Winthrop,  a  small  star-shaped  earth-work,  faced 
in  part  with  bricks,  suiTounded  by  a  ditch  except  on  the 
river  side,  and  provided  with  neither  casemate  nor  bomb- 
proof. Ordered  by  Butler  and  designed  by  Weitzel,  it 
had  been  thrown  up  shortly  after  the  little  victory  of 
Georgia  Landing.  It  was  to  be  within  reach  of  this  fort 
in  case  of  an  attack  from  raiding  rebels,  that  Ravenel  had 
selected  a  plantation  for  his  philanthropic  experiment  in 
the  neighborhood  of  Taylorsville.  Haste  was  necessary  to 
success,  for  the  planting  season  was  slippmg  away. 
Within  a  week  or  so  after  the  marriage  he  had  bought  a 
stock  of  tools  and  provisions,  obtained  a  ragged  corj^s  of 
negroes  from  the  Supermtendent  of  Colored  Labor,  shipped ' 
every  thing  on  board  a  Government  transport,  and  was  on 
the  spot  where  he  proposed  to  initiate  the  re-organization 
of  southern  industry. 

The  plantation  house  was  a  large,  plain  wooden  man- 
sion, very  much  like  those  which  the  country  gentility  of 
N'ew  England  built  about  the  beginning  of  this  century, 
except  that  the  necessities  of  a  southern  climate  had  dic- 
tated a  spacious  veranda  covering  the  whole  front,  two 
stories  in  height,  and  supported  by  tall  square  wooden 
pillars.  In  the  rear  was  a  one-storied  wing,  containing 
the  kitchen,  and  rooms  for  servants.  Farther  back,  at  the 
extremity  of  a  deep  and  slovenly  yard,  where  pigs  had 
been  wont  to  wander  without  much  opposition,  was  a  hoi- 


From     Secession    to     Loyaltv.         253 

low  square  of  cabins  for  the  field-hancls,  each  consisting  of 
two  rooms,  and  all  alike  built  of  rough  boards  coarsely 
whitewashed.  Xeither  the  cabins  nor  the  family  mansion 
had  a  cellar,  nor  even  a  foundation  wall ;  they  stood  on 
projos  of  brick-work,  leaving  room  underneath  for  the  free 
circulation  of  air,  dogs,  pigs  and  pickaninnies.  On  either 
side  of  the  house  the  cleared  lands  ran  a  considerable"  dis- 
tance up  and  down  the  bayou,  closing  in  the  rear,  at  a 
depth  of  three  or  four  hundred  yards,  in  a  stretch  of  for- 
est. An  eighth  of  a  mile  away,  not  far  from  the  winding 
road  wliich  skilled  the  sinuous  base  of  the  levee,  was  the 
most  expensive  building  of  the  plantation,  the  great  brick 
sugar-house,  with  vast  expanses  of  black  roof  and  a  gi- 
o-antic  chimney.  Xo  smoke  of  mdustry  arose  from  it ;  the 
sound  of  the  grinding  of  the  costly  steam  machinery  had 
departed  ;  the  vats  were  empty  and  dry,  or  had  been  car- 
ried away  for  bunks  and  fire-wood  by  foraging  soldiers  and 
negroes. 

There  was  not  a  soul  in  any  of  the  buildmgs  or  about 
the  grounds  when  the  Eavenels  arrived.  The  Secessionist 
family  of  Robertson  had  fled  before  AYeitzel's  advance  in- 
to the  Lafourche  country,  and  its  chief,  a'  man  of  fifty, 
had  fallen  at  the  head  of  a  company  of  militia  at  the 
fight  at  Georgia  Landing.  Then  the  field-hands,  who  had 
hid  in  the  swamps  to  avoid  bemg  carried  to  Texas,  came 
upon  the  house  like  locusts  of  destruction,  broke  down  its 
doors,  shattered  its  windows,  plundered  it  from  parlor  to 
garret,  drank  themselves  drunk  on  the  venerable  treas- 
ures of  the  wine  closet,  and  diverted  themselves  with  soil- 
ing the  carpets,  breaking  the  chairs,  ripping  up  the  sofas, 
and  defacing  the  family  portraits.  Some  gentle  sentiment, 
perhaps  a  feeble  love  for  the  departed  young  "  missus," 
perhaps  the  passion  of  their  race  for  music,  had  deterred 
them  from  mjuring  the  piano,  which  was  almost  the  only 
unharmed  piece  of  furniture  in  the  once  handsome  parlor. 
The  single  living  creature  about  the  place  was  a  half- 
starved  grimalkin,  who  caterwauled  dolefully  at  the  visit- 


254         Miss     Kavenel's     Conversion 

ors  from  a  distance,  and  could  not  be  enticed  to  approach 
by  the  blandishments  of  Lillie,  an  enthusiastic  cat-fancier. 
To  the  merely  sentimental  observer  it  was  sad  to  think 
that  this  house  of  desolation  had  not  long  since  been  the 
abode  of  the  generous  family  life  and  prodigal  hospitality 
of  a  southern  planter. 

"  Oh,  how  doleful  it  looks  !"  sighed  Lillie,  as  she  wan- 
dered about  the  deserted  rooms. 

"  It  is  doleful,"  said  the  Doctor.  "  As  doleful  as  the 
ruins  of  Babylon — of  cities  accursed  of  God,  and  smitten 
for  their  wickedness.  My  old  friend  Elderkin  used  to  say 
(before  he  went  addled  about  southern  rights)  that  he 
wondered  God  didn't  strike  all  the  sugar  planters  of  Louis- 
iana dead.  Well  He  has  stricken  them  with  stark  mad- 
ness ;  and  under  the  influence  of  it  they  are  getting  them- 
selves killed  off  as  fast  as  possible.  It  was  time.  The 
world  had  got  to  be  too  intelligent  for  them.  They  could 
not  live  without  retarding  the  progress  of  civilization. 
They  wanted  to  keep  up  the  social  systems  of  the  middle 
ages  amidst  railroads,  steamboats,  telegraphs,  patent  reap- 
ers, and  under  the  noses  of  Humboldt,  Leverrier,  Lyell, 
and  Agassiz.  Of  course  they  must  go  to  the  wall.  They 
will  be  pinned  up  to  it  i?i  terrore??i,  like  exterminated 
crows  and  chicken-hawks.  The  grand  jury  of  future  cen- 
turies will  bring  in  the  verdict,  '  Served  them  right !'  At 
the  same  time  one  cannot  help  feeling  a  little  human  sym- 
pathy, or  at  any  rate  a  little  poetic  melancholy,  on  step- 
ping thus  into  the  ruins  of  a  family." 

Lillie,  however,  was  not  very  sentimental  about  the  de- 
parted happiness  of  the  Robertsons ;  she  was  planning  how 
to  get  the  house  ready  for  the  expected  visit  of  Colonel 
Carter ;  in  that  channel  for  the  present  ran  her  poesy. 

"But  really,  papa,  we  must  go  to  work,"  she  said. 
"  The  nineteenth  century  has  turned  out  the  Robertsons, 
and  put  us  in — but  it  has  left  these  rooms  awfully  dirty, 
and  the  fm-niture  in  a  dreadful  condition." 

In  a  few  minutes  she  had  her  hat  off,  her  dress  pinned 


Fko:\i    Secession    to    Loyalty.         255 

up  to  keep  it  out  of  the  dust,  her  sleeves  rolled  back  to  her 
elbows,  and  was  flying  about  with  remarkable  emphasis, 
dragging  broken  chairs,  etc.,  to  the  garret,  and  brooming 
up  such  whirlwinds  of  dust,  that  the  Doctor  flew  abroad 
for  refu2:e.  What  she  could  not  do  herself  she  set  half  a 
dozen  negroes,  male  and  female,  to  doing.  She  was  wild 
with  excitement  and  gayety,  running  about,  ordering  and 
laus^hinoj  like  a  threefold  creature.  It  was  deligjhtful  to 
remember,  in  a  sweet  under-current  of  thought  which 
flowed  gently  beneath  her  external  glee,  that  she  was 
working  to  welcome  her  husband,  slaving  for  him,  thing 
herself  out  for  his  dear  sake.  In  a  couple  of  hours  she  was 
so  Aveary  that  she  had  to  fling  herself  on  a  settee  in  the 
veranda,  and  rest,  while  the  negroes  continued  the  labor. 
Women  in  general,  I  believe,  love  to  work  by  sj^asms  and 
deljriums,  doing,  or  making  believe  do,  a  vast  deal  vrhile 
they  are  at  it,  but  dropping  ofi"  presently  into  languor  and 
headache. 

"Papa,  we  shall  have  five  whole  chairs,"  she  called. 
"  You  can  sit  in  one,  I  in  another,  and  that  will  leave 
three  for  'Mr.  Carter.  Why  don't  you  come  and  do  some- 
thing ?  I  have  fagged  myself  half  to  death,  and  you 
haven't  done  a  thing  but  mope  about  with  your  hands  be- 
hind your  back.     Come  in  now,  and  go  to  work." 

"  My  dear,  there  are  so  many  negroes  in  there  that  I 
can't  get  in," 

"  Then  come  up  and  talk  to  me,"  commanded  the  young 
lady,  who  had  meant  that  all  the  while.  "  You  needn't 
think  you  can  find  any  Smithites  or  Robinsonites.  There 
isn't  a  mineral  in  Louisiana,  unless  it  is  a  brickbat.  Do 
come  up  here  and  talk  to  me.  I  can^t  scream  to  you  all 
the  afternoon." 

"  I  am  so  glad  you  can't,"  gi-inned  papa,  and  strolled 
obstinately  away  in  the  direction  of  the  sugar-house.  He 
was  studying  the  nature  of  the  soil,  and  proposing  to  sub- 
ject it  to  a  chemical  analysis,  in  order  to  see  if  it  could 
not  be  made  to  produce  as  much  corn  to  the  acre  as  the 


256         Miss    Ravenel's    Conversion 

bottom  lands  of  Ohio.  Indian  com  and  sweet  potatoes, 
with  a  little  seasoning  of  onions,  beets,  squashes,  and 
other  kitchen  garden  vegetables,  should  be  his  only  crop 
that  season.  Also  he  would  raise  pigs  and  chickens  by  the 
hundred,  and  perhaps  three  or  four  cows,  if  promising 
calves  could  be  obtained  in  the  country.  What  Xew  Or- 
leans wanted,  and  what  the  whole  department  would 
stand  in  desperate  need  of,  should  a  w^ar  break  out  with 
France,  was,  not  sugar,  but  corn  and  pork.  All  that  sum- 
mer the  possibility  of  a  war  with  France  was  a  prominent 
topic  of  conversation  in  Louisiana,  so  that  even  the  sol- 
diers talked  in  their  rough  way  of  "  revelling  in  the  halls 
of  the  Montezumas,  and  filling  their  pockets  with  little 
gold  Jesuses."  As  for  making  sugar,  unless  it  might  be 
a  hogshead  or  so  for  family  consummation,  it  was  out  of  the 
question.  It  w^ould  cost  twenty  thousand  dollars  merf^ly 
to  put  the  sugar-house  and  its  machinery  to  rights — and 
the  Doctor  had  no  such  riches,  nor  any  thing  approaching 
to  it,  this  side  of  heaven.  Nevertheless  he  was  perfectly 
happy  in  strolling  about  his  unplanted  estate,  and  revolv- 
mg  his  unfulfilled  plans,  agricultural  and  humanitarian. 
He  proposed  to  produce,  not  only  a  crop  of  corn  and  pota- 
toes, but  a  race  of  intelligent,  industrious  and  virtuous 
laborers.  He  w^ould  make  himself  analytically  acquainted, 
not  only  with  the  elements  and  possibilities  of  the  soil,  but 
with  those  of  the  negro  soul.  By  the  way,  I  ought  to 
mention  that  he  was  not  proprietor  of  the  plantation,  but 
only  a  tenant  of  it  to  the  United  States,  payuig  a  rent 
which  for  the  first  year  was  merely  nominal,  so  anxious 
was  Authority  to  mitiate  successfully  the  grand  exj^eri- 
ment  of  freedmen's  labor. 

When  he  returned  to  the  house  from  a  stroll  of  two 
hours  Lillie  favored  him  with  a  good  imitation  of  a  sound 
scolding.  What  did  he  mean  by  leavmg  her  alone  so, 
without  anybody  to  speak  a  word  to  ?  If  he  was  going 
to  be  always  out  m  this  way,  they  might  as  well  live  in 
New  Orleans  where  he  would  be  fussina:  around  his  hos- 


From     Secession    to     Loyalty.         257 

pital  from  morning  till  night.  She  was  tired  with  over- 
seeing those  stniDid  negroes  and  trying  to  make  them  set 
the  chairs  and  tables  right  side  up. 

"  My  dear,  don't  reproach  them  for  being  stupid,"  said 
Ravenel.  "  For  nearly  a  century  the  whole  power  of  our 
great  Republic,  north  and  south,  has  been  devoted  to  keep- 
ing them  stupid.  Your  own  State  has  taken  a  demoniac 
interest  in  this  infernal  labor.  We  mustn't  quarrel  with 
our  own  deliberate  productions.  "We  wanted  stupidity, 
we  have  got  it,  and  we  must  be  contented  with  it.  At  least 
for  a  while.  It  is  your  duty  and  mme  to  work  patiently, 
courteously  and  faithfully  to  undo  the  horrid  results  of  a 
century  of  selfishness.  I  shall  expect  you  to  teach  all 
these  poor  people  to  read." 

"  Teach  them  to  read  !  what,  set  up  a  nigger  school !" 

"  Yes,  you  born  barbarian, — and  daughter  of  a  bom 
barbarian, — for  I  felt  that  way  myself  once.  I  want  you 
in  the  first  place  to  teach  them,  and  yourself  too,  how  to 
spell  negro  with  only  one  g.  You  must  not  add  your 
efibrts  to  keep  this  abused  race  under  a  stigma  of  social 
contempt.  You  must  do  what  you  can  to  elevate  them  in 
sentiment  and  in  knowledge." 

"  But  oh,  what  a  labor !  I  would  rather  clean  house 
every  day." 

"  jSTot  so  very  much  of  a  labor— not  so  very  much  of  a 
labor,"  insisted  the  Doctor.  "  Xegro  children  are  just  as 
intelligent  as  white  children  until  they  find  out  that  they 
are  black.  Xow  we  will  never  tell,  them  that  they  are 
black ;  we  will  never  hint  to  them  that  they  are  born  our 
inferiors.  You  will  find  them  bright  enough  if  you  won't 
knock  them  on  the  head.  Why,  you  couldn't  read  your- 
self till  you  were  seven  years  old." 

"  Because  you  didn't  care  to  have  me.  I  learned  quick 
enough  when  I  set  about  it." 

"  Just  so.  And  that  proves  that  it  is  not  too  late  for 
our  people  here  to  commence  their  education.  Adults  can 
beat  children  at  the  alphabet." 


258        Miss     K  aye  x  el's    Conversion 

"  But  it  is  against  the  law,  teaching  them  to  read." 

The  Doctor  burst  into  a  hearty  laugh. 

"The  laws  of  Dahomey  are  abrogated,"  said  he. 
"  What  a  fossil  you  are  !  You  remind  me  of  my  poor 
dotino"  old  friend,  Elderkin,  who  persists  in  declaring  that 
the  invasion  of  Louisiana  was  a  violation  of  the  Constitu- 
tion." 

By  this  time  the  dozen  or  so  of  negroes  had  brought  the 
neglected  mansion  to  a  habitable  degree  of  cleanliness,  and 
decked  out  two  or  three  rooms  with  what  tags  and  ampu- 
tated fragments  remained  of  the  once  fine  furniture.  A 
chamber  had  been  prepared  for  Lillie,  and  another  for  the 
Doctor.  A  tea-table  was  set  in  a  picnic  sort  of  style,  and 
crowned  with  corn  cake,  fried  pork,  and  roasted  sweet  po- 
tatoes. 

"  Are  you  not  going  to  ask  in  our  colored  friends  ?"  in- 
quired Lillie,  mischievously. 

"  Why  no.  I  don't  see  the  logical  necessity  of  it.  I  al- 
ways have  claimed  the  right  of  selecting  my  own  inti- 
mates. I  admit,  however,  that  I  have  sat  at  table  with 
less  respectable  peoj^le  in  some  of  the  most  aristocratic 
houses  of  New  Orleans.  Please  to  drop  the  satire  and  put 
some  sugar  in  my  tea." 

"  Mercy !  there  is  no  sugar  on  the  table.  The  stupid 
creatures  !  How  can  you  wonder,  papa,  that  I  allow  my- 
self to  look  down  on  them  a  little  ?" 

"  I  don't  believe  it  is  possible  to  get  all  the  virtues  and 
all  the  talents  for  nothing  a  year,  or  even  for  ten  dollars  a 
month.  I  will  try  to  induce  the  Major-General  command- 
ing to  come  and  wait  on  table  for  us.  But  I  am  really 
afraid  I  sha'n't  succeed.  He  is  very  busy.  Meantime 
suppose  you  should  hint  to  one  of  the  handmaidens,  as 
politely  as  you  can,  that  I  am  accustomed  to  take  sugar 
in  my  tea." 

"  Julia  !"  called  Lillie  to  a  mulatto  girl  of  eighteen,  who 
just  then  entered  from  the  kitchen.  "  You  have  given  us 
How  could  you  be  so  silly  ?" 


Feom    Secession    to    Loyalty.        259 

"  Don't !"  expostulated  the  Doctor.  "  I  never  knew  a 
woman  but  scolded  her  servants,  and  I  never  knew  a  ser- 
vant but  waited  the  worse  for  it.  All  that  the  good-na- 
tured creature  desired  was  to  know  what  you  wanted.  It 
didn't  clear  her  head  nor  soften  her  heart  a  bit  to  call  her 
silly  ;  nor  would  it  have  helped  matters  at  all  if  you  had 
gone  on  to  pelt  her  with  all  the  hard  names  in  the  English 
language.  Be  courteous,  my  dear,  to  everything  that  is 
human.  We  owe  that  much  of  respect  to  the  fact  that 
man  is  made  in  the  image  of  his  Maker.  Politeness  is  a 
part  of  piety." 

"  When  would  Mr.  Carter  be  able  to  visit  them  ?"  was 
Lillie's  next  spoken  idea.  Papa  really  could  not  say,  but 
hoped  very  soon — whereupon  he  was  immediately  ques- 
tioned as  to  the  reasons  of  his  hope.  Having  no  special  rea- 
son to  allege,  and  being  driven  to  admit  that,  after  all,  the 
visit  could  not  positively  be  counted  upon,  he  was  sharply 
catechised  as  to  why  he  thought  Mr.  Carter  would  not 
come,  to  which  he  could  only  reply  by  denying  he  had 
entertained  such  a  thought.  Then  followed  m  rapid  suc- 
cession, "  Suppose  the  brigade  leaves  Thibodeaux,  where 
will  it  go  to  ?  Suppose  General  Banks  attacks  Port  Hud- 
son, won't  he  be  obliged  to  leave  Colonel  Carter  to  defend 
the  Lafourche  Interior  ?  Suppose  the  brigade  is  ordered 
►into  the  field,  will  it  not,  being  the  best  brigade,  be  al- 
ways kept  in  reserve,  out  of  the  range  of  fire  ?" 

"  My  dear  child,"  deprecated  the  hunted  Doctor,  "  what 
happy  people  those  early  Greeks  must  have  been  who  were 
descended  from  the  immortal  gods  !  They  could  ask  their 
papas  all  sorts  of  questions  about  the  future,  and  get  relia- 
ble answers." 

"  But  I  am  so  anxious  !"  said  Lillie,  dropping  back  in 
her  chair  with  a  sob,  and  wiping  away  her  tears  with  her 
napkin. 

'^ly  poor  dear  little  girl,  you  must  try  to  keep  up  a 
better  courage,"  urged  papa  in  a  compassionate  tone 
which  only  made  the  drops  fall  faster,  so  affectmg  i^  pity. 


260        Miss    Ravenel's    Conveesiox 

"  Xothing  lias  happened  to  him  yet,  and  \re  have  a  rio-ht 
to  hope  and  pray  that  nothing  will." 

"  But  something  may^^  was  the  persevering  answer  of 
anxiety. 

As  soon  as  supper  was  over  she  hurried  to  her  room, 
locked  the  door,  knelt  on  the  bit  of  carpet  by  the  bedside, 
buried  her  face  in  the  bed-clothes,  and  prayed  a  long  time 
with  tears  and  sobs,  that  her  husband,  her  own  and  dear 
husband,  might  be  kept  from  danger.  She  did  not  even 
ask  that  he  might  be  brought  to  her ;  it  was  enough  if  he 
might  only  be  delivered  from  the  awful  perils  of  battle  ; 
in  the  humility  of  her  earnestness  and  terror  she  had  not 
the  face  to  require  more.  After  a  while  she  went  down 
stairs  agam  with  an  expression  of  placid  exhaustion,  ren- 
dered sweeter  by  a  soft  glory  of  religious  trust,  as  the  sun- 
set mellowness  of  our  earthly  atmosphere  is  rayed  by 
beams  from  a  mightier  world.  Sitting  on  a  stool  at  her 
father's  feet,  and  laying  her  head  on  his  knee,  she  talked 
in  more  cheerful  tones  of  Carter,  of  their  own  prospects, 
and  then  agam  of  Carter — for  ever  of  Carter. 

"  I  uill  teach  the  negroes  to  read,"  she  said.  "  I  will 
try  to  do  good — and  to  be  good." 

She  was  thinking  how  she  could  best  win  the  fovor  and 
protection  of  Heaven  for  her  husband.  She  would  teach 
the  negroes  for  Carter's  sake  ;  she  had  not  yet  learned  to 
do  it  for  Jesus  Christ's  sake.  She  was  not  a  heathen  ;  she 
had  received  the  same  evangelical  instruction  that  "most 
young  Americans  receive ;  she  was  perfectly  well  aware 
of  the  doctrme  of  salvation  by  faith  and  not  .by  works. 
But  no  profound  sorrow,  no  awful  sense  of  helj^lessness 
under  the  threatenuio*  of  danorers  to  those  whom  she  dear- 
ly  loved,  had  CA^er  made  these  things  matters  of  personal 
experience  and  realizuig  belief 

-  When  the  Doctor  called  in  the  negroes  at  nme  o'clock, 
and  read  to  them  a  chapter  from  the  Bible,  and  a  praf  cr, 
Lillie  joined  in  the  devotions  with  an  unusual  sense  of  hu- 
mility and  earnestness.     In  her  own  room,  before  going  to 


From    Secession    to     Loyalty.  261 

bed,  she  prayed  again  for  Carter,  and  not  for  him  only, 
but  for  herself. '  Then  she  quickly  fell  asleep,  for  she  was 
young  and  very  tired.  How  SDme  elderly  people,  who 
have  learned  to  toss  and  count  the  hours  till  near  morn- 
ing, envy  these  infants,  whether  of  twenty  months  or  twen- 
ty years,  who  can  so  readily  cast  their  sorrows  into  the 
profound  and  tranquil  ocean  of  slumber  ! 


CHAPTER  XIX. 

THE    KEOEGA^aZATIOX    OF    SOUTHERN    LABOR    IS    CONTINUED 
WITH  YIGOR. 

By  six  o'clock  m  the  morning  the  Doctor  was  out  visit- 
mg  the  quarters  of  his  sable  dependants.  Having  on  the 
previous  evenmg  told  Major  Scott,  the  head  man  or  over- 
seer of  the  gang,  that  he  should  exj)ect  the  people  to  rise 
by  daybreak  aijd  get  their  breakfasts  immediately,  so  as  to 
be  ready  for  early  work,  he  was  a  little  astonished  to  find 
half  of  them  still  asleej),  and  two  or  three  absent.  The 
Major  himself  was  just  leaving  the  water-butt  in  rear  of 
the  plantation  house,  where  he  had  evidently  been  per- 
forming his  mornins^  ablutions. 

"  Scott,"  said  the  Doctor,  "  you  shouldn't  use  tnat  water. 
The  butt  holds  hardly  enough  for  the  family." 

"  Yes  sah,"  answered  with  a  reverential  bow  the  Major. 
"  But  the  butt  that  we  has  is  mighty  dry." 

"  But  there  is  the  bayou,  close  by." 

"  Yes  sah,  so  'tis,"  assented  the  Major,  with  another 
bow.     "  I  guess  I'll  think  of  that  nex'  time." 

"  But  what  are  you  all  about  ?"  asked  the  Doctor.  "  I 
understood  that  you  were  all  to  be  up  and  ready  for  work 
by  this  tune." 

"  I  tole  the  boys  so,"  said  the  Major  in  a  tone  of  indig- 
nant virtue.     "  I  tole  'em  every  one  to  be  up  an'  about  right 


262  Miss     Ravenel's     Conveksion 

smart  this  raornin'.  I  tole  'cm  this  was  the  fust  mornin'  an' 
they  orter  be  up  right  smart,  cos  everythin'  'pendcd  on 
how  we  took  a  start.  'Pears  like  they  didn't  mine  much 
about  it  some  of  'em." 

"  I'm  afraid  you  didn't  set  them  an  example,  Scott. 
Have  you  had  your  breakfast  ?" 

"  No  sah.  'Pears  like  the  ole  woman  couldn't  fetch  no- 
thin'  to  pass  this  mornm'." 

"  Well,  Scott,  you  must  set  them  an  example,  if  you 
want  to  influence  them.  Never  enjoin  any  duty  upon  a 
man  without  setting  him  an  example." 

"  Yes  sah  ;  that's  the  true  way,"  coincided  the  unabashed 
•Major.  "That's  the  way  Abraham  an' Isaac  an'  Jacob 
went  at  it,"  he  added,  turnmg  his  large  eyes  upward  with 
a  sanctimoniousness  of  effect  which  most  men  could  not 
have  equalled  without  the  aid  of  lifted  hands,  tonsures 
and  priestly  gowns.  "  An'  they  was  God's  'ticlar  child'n, 
an  'lightened  by  his  holy  sperrit." 

The  Doctor  studied  him  for  a  moment  with  the  interest 
of  a  philosopher  in  a  moral  curiosity,  and  .said  to  liimself, 
rather  sadly,  that  a  monkey  or  a  parrot  might  be  educated 
to  very  nearly  the  same  show  of  piety. 

"  Are  all  the  people  here  ?"  he  inquired,  reverting  from 
a  consideration  of  the  spiritual  harvest  to  matters  con- 
nected with  temporal  agriculture. 

"  No  sah.  I'se  feared  not.  Tom  an'  Jim  is  gone  fo' 
suah.  Tom  he  went  off  las'  night  down  to  the  fote. 
'Pears  like  he's  foun'  a  oral  down  thar  that  he's  a  co'tinor. 
Then  Jim ; — don'  know  whar  Jim  is  nohow.  Mighty 
poor  mean  nigger  he  is,  I  specs.     Sort  o'  no  'count  nigger." 

"  Is  he  ?"  said  the  Doctor,  eyeing  Scott  with  a  suspicious 
air,  as  if  considering  the  possibility  that  he  too  might  be  a 
negro  of  no  account.  "I  must  have  a  talk  with  these 
people.  Get  them  all  together,  every  man,  woman  and 
pickaninny." 

The  Major's  face  was  radiant  at  the  prospect  of  a  speech,' 
a  scene,  a  spectacle,  an  excitement.     He  went  at  his  sab- 


Feom    Secession    to     Loyalty.       263 

ordinates  with  a  will,  dragging  them  out  of  their  slumbers 
by  the  heels,  jerking  the  little  ones  along  by  the  shoulder, 
and  shouting  in  a  grand  bass  voice,  "  Come,  start  'long  ! 
Pile  out !  Git  away  frum  hyer.  Mars  Ravenel  gwine  to 
make  a  speech." 

In  a  few  minutes  he  had  them  drawn  up  in  two  ranks, 
.men  in  front,  women  in  the  rear,  tallest  on  the  right,  young- 
lings on  the  left. 

"  I  knows  how  to  form  'em,"  he  said  with  a  broad  smile 
of  satisfied  vanity.  "  I  used  to  c'mand  a  comp'ny  under 
Gineral  Phelps.  I  was  head  boss  of  his  cullud  'camp- 
ment.     He  fus'  give  me  the  title  of  Major." 

He  took  his  post  on  the  right  of  the  line,  honored  the 
Doctor  with  a  military  salute,  and  commanded  in  a 
hollow  roar,  "  'Tention !" 

"  My  fi'iends,"  said  the  Doctor,  "  we  are  all  here  to  eaiTi 
our  living." 

"  That's  so.  Bress  the  Lawd  !  The  good  time  am 
a  comin',"  from  the  not  unintelligent  audience. 

"  Hear  me  patiently  and  don't  interrupt,"  continued  the 
Doctor.  "I  see  that  you  understand  and  appreciate 
your  good  fortune  in  being  able  at  last  to  work  for  the 
wages  of  freedom." 

"  Yes,  Mars'r,"  in  a  subdued  hoarse  whisper  from  Major 
Scott,  who  immediately  apologized  for  his  liberty  by  a 
particularly  grand  military  salute. 

"  I  want  to  impress  upon  you,"  said  Ravenel,  "  that  the 
true  dignity  of  freedom  does  riot  consist  in  laziness.  A 
lazy  man  is  sure  to  be  a  poor  man,  and  a  poor  man  is  never 
quite  a  free  man.  He  is  not  free  to  buy  what  he  would 
like,  because  he  has  no  money.  He  is  not  free  to  respect 
himself,  for  a  lazy  man  is  not  worthy  even  of  his  own  res- 
pect. We  must  all  work  to  get  any  thing  or  deserve  any 
thing.  In  old  times  you  used  to  work  because  you  were 
afraid  of  the  overseer."  "  Whip,"  he  was  about  to  say, 
but  skipped  the  degrading  word. 

"  Now  you  are  to  work  from  hope,  and  not  from  fear. 


264         Miss    Ravenel's    Conversion 

The  good  time  has  come  Avhen  our  nation  has  resolved  to 
declare  that  the  laborer  is  worthy  of  his  hire." 

"  Oh,  the  blessed  Scripter  !"  shouted  Madam  Scott  in  a 
piercing  pipe,  whereupon  her  husband  gave  her  a  white- 
eyed  glare  of  reproof  for  daring  to  speak  when  he  was 
silent. 

"Your  future  depends  upon  yourselves,"  the  Doctor 
went  on.  "  You  can  become  useful  and  even  influential 
citizens,  if  you  will.  But  you  must  be  industrious  and 
honest,  and  faithful  to  your  engagements.  I  want  you  to 
understand  this  perfectly.  I  will  talk  more  to  you  about 
it  some  other  time.  Just  now  I  wish  chiefly  to  impress 
upon  you  your  immediate  duties  Avhile  you  are  on  this 
plantation.  I  shall  expect  you  all  to  sleep  in  your  quar- 
ters. I  shall  expect  you  to  be  up  at  daybreak,  get  your 
breakfasts  as  soon  as  possible,  and  be  ready  to  go  to  work 
at  once.  You  must  not  leave  the  plantation  during  the 
day  without  my  permission.  You  will  work  ten  hours  a 
day  during  the  working  season.  You  will  be  orderly, 
honest,  virtuous  and  respectable.  In  return  I  am  to  give 
you  rations,  clothing,  quarters,  fuel,  medical  attendance, 
and  instruction  for  children.  I  am  also  to  pay  you  as 
wages  eight  dollars  a  month  for  first-class  hands,  and  six 
for  second-class.  Each  of  you  will  have  his  little  plot  of 
land.  Finally,  I  will  endeavor  to  see  that  you  are  all,  old 
and  young,  taught  to  read." 

Here  there  was  an  unanimous  shout  of  delight,  followed 
by  articulate  blessmgs  and  utterances  of  gratitude. 

"  Whenever  any  one  gets  dissatisfied,"  concluded  the 
Doctor,  "  I  will  apply  to  find  him  another  place.  You 
know  that,  if  you  go  oft"  alone  and  without  authority,  you 
are  exposed  to  be  picked  up  by  the  provost-marshal,  and 
put  in  the  anny.  ]N"ow  then,  get  your  breakfasts.  !Major 
Scott,  you  will  report  to  me  when  they  are  ready  to  go  to 
work." 

While  the  Major  ofiered  up  a  ponderous  salute,  the  line 
dispersed  in  gleesome  confusion,  which  was  a  sore  disap- 


From     Secession     to     Loyalty.        265 

pointment  to  him,  as  he  wanted  to  make  it  right  face,  clap 
hands,  and  break  ranks  in  military  fashion.  The  Doctor 
went  to  breakfast  with  the  most  cheerful  confidence  in  his 
retainers,  notwithstanding  the  idle  oj)enmg  of  this  morn- 
ing. As  soon  as  the  poor  fellows  knew  what  he  expected 
of  them,  they  would  be  sure  to  do  it,  if  it  was  anything  in 
reason,  he  said  to  Lillie.  The  nes^roes  were  iojnorant  of 
their  duty,  and  often  thoughtless  of  it,  but  they  were  at 
bottom  zealous  to  do  right,  and  honestly  disposed  toward 
people  who  paid  them  for  their  labor.  And  here  the  author 
ventures  to  introduce  the  historical  doubt  as  to  whether 
any  other  half-barbarous  race  was  ever  blessed  and  beauti- 
fied with  such  a  lovingly  grateful  spirit  as  descended,  liko 
the  flames  of  the  day  of  Pentecost,  upon  the  bondsmen  of 
America  when  their  chains  were  broken  by  the  just  hanos 
of  the  great  Republic.  Impure  in  life  by  reason  of  their 
immemorial  degradation,  first  as  savages,  and  then  as 
slaves,  they  were  pure  in  heart  by  reason  of  their  fervent 
joy  and  love. 

Under  no  urgency  but  that  of  their  own  thankfulness 
the  Doctor's  negroes  did  more  work  that  summer  than  the 
Robertsons  had  ever  got  from  double  their  number  by  the 
agency  of  a  white  overseer,  drivers,  whips  and  paddles. 
On  the  second  morning  they  were  all  present  and  up  at 
daybreak,  includmg  even  Tom  the  lovelorn,  and  Jim  the 
"  no  'count  nigger."  In  a  couple  of  weeks  they  had  split 
out  many  wagon-loads  of  rails  from  the  forest  in  rear  of 
the  plantation,  put  the  broken-down  fences  m  order,  and 
prepared  a  suflicient  tract  of  ground  for  planting.  Xot  a 
pig  nor  a  chicken  disappeared  from  the  Doctor's  flocks  and 
hards,  if  I  may  be  allowed  to  apply  such  magnificent  terms 
to  bristly  and  feathered  creatures.  On  the  contrary,  his 
small  store  of  live-stock  increased  with  a  rapidity  Avhicli 
seemed  miraculous,  and  which  was  inadequately  explamed 
by  the  non-committal  commentary  of  Major  Scott,  '*  Specs 
it  mebbe  in  anser  to  prayer."  Ravenel  finally  learned,  to 
his  intense  mortification,  that  his  over-zealous  henchmen 
M 


266  Miss     Rate  x  el's     Conversion 

were  in  the  habit  of  clepredatmg  nightly  on  the  property 
of  adjacent  planters  of  the  old  Secession  stock,  and  adding 
such  of  their  spoils  as  they  did  not  need,  to  his  limited  zo- 
ological collection.  Under  the  pangs  of  this  discovery  he 
made  a  tour  of  apology  and  restitution  through  the  neigh- 
borhood, and  on  returning  from  it,  called  his  hands  to- 
gether and  delivered  them  a  lecture  on  the  universal  ai> 
jjlication  of  the  law  of  honesty.  They  heard  him  with 
suppressed  titters  and  hastily  eclipsed  grins,  nudging  each 
other  in  the  side,  and  exhibitmg  a  keen  percejjtion  of  the 
practical  humor  and  poetical  justice  of  their  roguery. 

"  'Pears  like  you  don'  wan'  to  spile  the  'Gyptians,  Mars 
Kavenel,"  observed  a  smirkmg,  shining  darkey  known  as 
Mr.  Mo.  "  You's  one  o'  God's  chosen  people,  an'  you's 
been  in  slavery  somethin'  like  we  has,  an'  you  has  a  right 
to  dese  yere  rebel  chickins," 

"  My  good  people,"  replied  the  Doctor,  "  I  don't  say  but 
that  you  have  a  right  to  all  the  rebel  chickens  in  Louisiana. 
I  deny  that  I  have.  I  have  always  been  well  paid  for  my 
labor.  And  even  to  you  I  would  say,  be  forgiving, — be 
magnanimous, — avoid  even  the  appearance  of  evil.  It  is 
your  great  business,  your  great  duty  toward  yourselves, 
to  establish  a  character  for  perfect  honesty  and  harmless- 
ness.  If  you  haven't  enough  to  eat,  I  don't  mind  adding 
something  to  your  rations." 

"  We  has  'nuff  to  eat,"  thundered  Major  Scott.  "  Let 
the  man  as  says  we  hasn't  step  out  ?/e?e." 

Xobody  stepped  out ;  everybody  was  full  of  nourish- 
ment and  content ;  and  the  interview  terminated  in  a  buzz 
of  satisfaction  and  suppressed  laughter.  Thenceforward 
the  Doctor  had  the  virtuous  pleasure  of  observing  that  his 
legitimate  pigs  and  chickens  were  left  to  their  natural 
means  of  increase. 

Lillie's  reading  schools,  held  every  evening  in  one  of  the 
unfurnished  rooms  of  the  second  story,  were  attended  regu- 
larly by  both  sexes,  and  all  ages  of  this  black  population. 
The  rapidity   of  their   progress  at   first   astonished   and 


From    Secession    to    Loyalty.         267 

eventually  delighted  her,  in  proportion  as  she  gradually 
took  her  ignorant  but  zealous  scholars  to  her  heart.  The 
eagerness,  the  joy,  the  gratitude  even  to  tears,  with  which 
they  accepted  her  tuition  was  touchmg.  They  pronounced 
the  words  "  Miss  Lillie  "  with  a  tone  and  manner  which 
seemed  to  lay  soul  and  body  at  her  feet ;  and  when  the 
Doctor  entered  the  schoolroom  on  one  of  his  visits  of  in- 
spection they  gaA'e  him  a  dazzling  welcome  of  grins  and 
rolling  eyes  ;  the  sj^ectacle  reminded  him  vaguely  of  such 
spiritual  expressions  crowns  of  glory  and  stars  in  the 
firmament.  If  the  gratitude  of  the  humble  is  a  benedic- 
tion, few  people  have  ever  been  more  blessed  than  were 
the  Ravenels  at  this  j^eriod. 

As  a  truthful  historian  I  must  admit  that  there  were 
some  rotten  specks  in  the  social  fruit  which  the  Doctor 
was  trymg  to  raise  from  this  barbarous  stock.  Lillie  was 
annoyed,  was  even  put  out  of  all  patience  temporarily,  by 
occasional  scandals  which  came  to  light  among  her  sable 
pupils  and  were  referred  to  her  or  to  her  father  for  settle- 
ment. That  eminent  dignitary  and  supposed  exemplar  of 
purity.  Major  Scott,  was  the  very  first  to  be  detected  in 
capital  sin,  the  scandal  bemg  all  the  more  grievous  because 
he  was  not  only  the  appointed  industrial  manager,  but  the, 
self-elected  spiritual  overseer  of  the  colored  community. 
He  preached  to  them  every  Sunday  afternoon,  and  secretly 
plunjed  himself  on  being  more  fluent  by  many  degrees 
than  Mars  Ravenel,  who  conducted  the  morning  exercises 
chiefly  through  the  agency  of  Bible  and  prayer-book. 
His  copiousness  of  language,  and  abundance  of  Scriptural 
quotation  was  quite  wonderful.  In  volume  of  sound  his 
praymg  was  as  if  a  bull  of  Bashan  had  had  a  gift  m 
prayer;  and  if  Heaven  could  have  been  taken,  like  Jericho, 
by  mere  noise.  Major  Scott  was  able  to  take  it  alone.  Had 
he  been  born  white  and  decently  educated,  he  would  prob- 
ably have  made  a  popular  orator  either  of  the  j^ulpit  or 
forum.  He  had  the  lungs  for  it,  the  volubility  and  the 
imagination.     In  pious  conversation,  venerable  air,  grand 


268         Miss     Ravexel's    Cox  version 

physique,  superb  bass  voicej  mijsical  ear,  perfection  of 
teeth,  and  shining  white  of  the  eyes,  he  was  a  counterpart 
of  Mrs.  Stowe's  immortal  idealism,  Uncle  Tom.  But,  like 
some  white  Christians,  this  tolerably  exemplary  black  had 
not  yet  arrived  at  the  ability  to  keep  the  whole  decalogue. 
He  sometimes  got  a  fall  m  his  wrestlings  with  the  sin  of 
lying,  and  in  regard  to  the  seventh  commandment  he  was 
even  more  liable  to  overthrow  than  King  David.  Ravenel 
had  much  ado  to  heal  some  social  heart-burninojs  caused 
by  the  Major's  want  of  illumination  concerning  the  bind- 
ing nature  of  the  marriage  contract.  He  got  him  married 
over  again  by  the  chaplain  of  the  garrison  at  Fort  Win- 
throp,  and  then  informed  him  that,  in  case  of  any  more 
scandals,  he  should  report  him  to  the  provost-marshal  as  a 
proper  character  to  enter  the  army. 

"  I'se  very  sorry  for  what's  come  to  j^ass.  Mars  Rav- 
enel," said  the  alarmed  and  repentant  culprit.  "  But  now 
I  'specs  to  go  right  forrad  in  the  path  of  duty.  I  s'pose 
now  Mars  Chaplam  has  done  it  strong.  Ye  see,  afore  it 
wasn't  done  strong.  I  wasn't  rightly  married,  like  'spect- 
able  folks  is,  nohow.  Ef  I'd  been  married  right  strong, 
like  'spectable  white  folks  is,  I  wouldn't  got  into  this  muss 
an  fotched  down  shame  on  'ligion,  for  which  I'se  mighty 
sorry  an'  been  about  rej^entm  in  secret  places  with  many 
tears.  That's  so,  Mars  Ravenel,  as  true  as  I  hopes  to  be 
forgiven." 

Here  the  Major's  manhood,  what  he  had  of  it,  broke 
down,  or,  perhaps  I  ought  to  say,  showed  itself  honorably, 
and  he  wept  copious  tears  of  what  I  must  charitably  ac- 
cept as  true  compunction. 

"  I  am  a  little  disappointed,  but  not  much  astonished," 
said  the  Doctor,  discussing  this  matter  with  the  Chaplain. 
"  I  was  inclined  to  hope  at  one  time  that  I  had  found  an 
actual  Uncle  Tom.  I  was  anxious  and  even  ready  to  be- 
lieve that  the  mere  gift  of  freedom  had  exalted  and  puri- 
fied the  negro  character  notwithstandmg  uncounted  cen- 
turies of  barbarism  or  of  oppression.     But  in  hoping  a 


From     Secessioi^    to     Loyalty.         269 

moral  miracle  I  was  licfjiuig  too  much.  I  ought  not  to 
have  expected  that  a  ^t.  Vincent  cle  Paul  could  be  raised 
under  the  injustice  and  dissoluteness  of  the  sugar-plantmg 
system.  After  all,  the  Major  is  no  Tvorse  than  David. 
That  is  23retty  Avell  for  a  man  whom  the  American  Repub- 
lic, thirty  millions  strong,  has  repressed  and  kept  brutish 
with  its  whole  power  from  his  birth  down  to  about  a  year 
ago." 

"  It  seems  to  me,"  answered  the  Chaplain, — "  I  beg  your 
pardon, — but  it  seems  to  me  that  you  don't  sufficiently 
consider  the  enlightening  power  of  divine  grace.  If  this 
man  had  ever  been  truly  regenerated  (which  I  fear  is  not 
the  case),  I  doubt  whether  he  would  have  fallen  into  this 
sm." 

"  My  dear  sir,"  said  the  Doctor  warmly,  "  renewing  a 
man's  heart  is  only  a  partial  reformation,  unless  you  illu- 
minate his  mind.  He  wants  to  do  right,  but  how  is  he  to 
know  what  is  right  ?  Suppose  he  can't  read.  Suppose 
half  of  the  Bible  is  not  told  hun.  Suppose  he  is  misled  by 
half  the  teaching,  and  all  the  example  of  those  whom  he 
looks  up  to  as  in  every  respect  his  superiors.  I  am  dis- 
posed to  regard  Scott  as  a  very  fau*  attempt  at  a  Christian, 
considering  his  chances.  I  am  grieved  over  his  error,  but 
I  do  not  think  it  a  case  for  righteous  indignation,  except 
agamst  men  who  brought  this  poor  fellow  up  so  badly." 

"  But  Uncle  Tom,"  instanced  the  Chaplain,  who  had  not 
been  long  in  the  South. 

"  My  dear  sir.  Uncle  Tom  is  a  pure  fiction.  There  never 
was  such  a  slave,  and  there  never  will  be.  A  man  edu- 
cated imder  the  degrading  influences  of  bondage  must  al- 
ways have  some  taint  of  uncommon  grossness  and  lowness. 
I  don't  believe  that  Onesimus  was  a  pattern  of  piety.  But 
St.  Paul  had  the  moral  sense,  the  Christianity,  to  make  al- 
lowance for  his  disadvantages,  and  he  recommended  him 
to  Philemon,  no  doubt  as  a  weak  brother  who  required 
special  charity  and  instruction." 

Injured  husbands  of  the  slave-grown  breed  are  rarely 


2V0  Miss     R  a  ye  x  el's     Conversion 

implacable  in  their  anger;  and  before  a  fortnight  had 
passed,  Major  Scott  was  preaching  and  praying  among  his 
colored  brethren  with  as  much  confidence  and  acceptance 
as  ever. 

The  season  opened  delightfully  with  the  Ravenels.  Lillie 
'vvas  occasionally  doleful  at  not  gettmg  letters  from  her 
husband,  and  sometimes  depressed  by  the  solitude  and 
monotony  of  plantation  life.  Her  father,  bemg  more 
steadily  occupied,  and  having  no  afiectionate  worry  on  his 
mind,  was  constantly  and  almost  boyishly  cheerful.  It 
was  one  of  his  characteristics  to  be  contented  under  nearly 
any  circumstances.  Wherever  he  happened  to  be  he 
thought  it  was  a  very  nice  place ;  and  if  he  afterwards 
found  a  spot  with  superior  advantages,  he  simply  liked  it 
better  still.  I  can  easily  believe  that,  but  for  the  stigma 
of  forced  confinement,  he  Avould  have  been  quite  happy  in 
a  2)i'ison,  and  that,  on  regaining  his  libert}",  he  would  simply 
have  remarked,  "  Why,  it  is  even  pleasant er  outside  than 
in." 

But  I  am  running  ahead  of  some  important  events  in 
my  story.  Lillie  received  a  letter  from  her  husband  say- 
ing that  he  should  visit  the  family  soon,  and  then  another 
informing  her  that  in  cons'equence  of  an  unforeseen  press 
of  business,  he  should  be  obliged  to  postpone  the  visit  for 
a  few  days.  His  two  next  letters  were  written  from 
Brashear  City  on  the  Atchafalaya  river,  but  contained  no 
explanation  of  his  presence  there.  Then  came  a  silence  of 
three  days,  which  caused  her  to  torture  herself  with  all 
sorts  of  gloomy  doubts  and  fears,  and  made  her  fly  for 
forgetfulness  or  comfort  to  her  housekeejDmg,  her  school, 
and  her  now  frequent  private  devotions.  The  riddle  was 
explained  when  the  Doctor  procured  a  Xew  Orleans  paper 
at  the  fort,  with  the  news  that  Banks  had  crossed  the 
Atchafalaya  and  beaten  the  enemy  at  Camp  Beasland. 

"  It's  all  right,"  he  said,  as  he  entered  the  house.  He 
waved  the  paper  triumphantly,  and  smiled  with  a  counter- 
feit delight,  anxious  to  forestall  her  alarm. 


FBOii    Secession    to    Loyalty.         271 

"  Oh  !  what  is  it?"  asked  Lillie  with  a  choking  sensation, 
fearful  that  it  might  not  be  quite  as  right  as  she  wanted. 

"Banks  has  defeated  the  enemy  in  a  great  battle. 
Colonel  Carter  is  unhurt,  and  honorably  mentioned  for 
bravery  and  ability." 

"  Oh,  papa  !" 

She  had  turned  very  white  at  the  thought  of  the  peril 
through  which  her  husband  had  passed,  and  the  possibility, 
instantaneously  foreseen,  that  he  might  be  called  to  en- 
counter yet  other  dangers. 

"  We  ought  to  be  very  grateful,  my  darling." 

"  Oh  !  why  has  he  gone  ?  Why  didn't  he  tell  me  that 
he  was  going?  Why  did  he  leave  me  so  in  the  dark?" 
was  all  that  Lillie  could  say  in  the  way  of  thankfulness. 

"My  child,  don't  be  unreasonable.  He  wished  of 
course  to  save  you  from  unnecessary  anxiety.  It  was 
very  kind  and  mse  in  him." 

Lillie  snatched  the  paper,  ran  to  her  own  room  and 
read  the  official  bulletin  over  and  over,  dropping  her  tears 
upon  it  and  kissing  the  place,  where  her  husband  was 
praised  and  recommended  for  promotion.  Then  she 
thought  how  generous  and  grand  he  was  to  go  forth  to 
battle  in  silence,  without  uttering  a  word  to  alarm  her, 
without  making  an  appeal  for  her  sympathy.  The  great- 
est men  of  history  have  not  seemed  so  great  to  the  world 
as  did  this  almost  unknown  colonel  of  volunteers  ft)  his 
wife.  She  was  in  a  passion,  an  almost  unearthly  ecstasy 
of  grief,  terror,  admiration  and  love.  It  is  well  that  we 
cannot  always  feel  thus  strongly ;  if  we  did,  we  should 
not  average  twenty  years  of  life ;  if  we  did,  the  human 
race  would  perish. 

Next  day  came  two  letters  from  Carter,  one  written  be- 
fore and  one  after  the  battle.  In  his  description  of  the 
fighting  he  was  as  professional,  brief  and  unenthusiastic 
as  usual,  merely  mentioning  the  fact  of  success,  narrating 
in  two  sentences  the  part  which  his  brigade  had  taken  in 
the  action,  and  saying  nothing  of  his  own  dangers  or  per- 


272         Miss     Ravenel's     Conversion 

formances.  But  there  was  another  subject  on  wliich  he 
was  more  copious,  and  this  j^art  of  the  letter  Lillie 
prized  most  of  all.  "  I  am  afraid  I  sicken  you  witli  such 
fondness,"  he  concluded.  "  It  seems  to  me  that  you  must 
get  tired  of  reading  over  and  over  again  the  same  endear- 
ing phrases  and  pet  names." 

"  Oh,  never  imagine  that  I  can  sicken  of  hearmg  or 
reading  that  you  love  me,"  she  answered.  "  You  must 
not  cheat  me  of  a  single  pet  name ;  you  must  call  me  by 
such  names  over  and  over  in  every  letter.  I  always  skim 
through  your  letters  to  read  those  dear  words  first.  I 
should  be  utterly  and  forever  miserable  if  I  did  not  believe 
that  you  love  me,  and  did  not  hear  so  from  you  con- 
stantly." 

At  this  time  Lillie  knew  by  heart  all  her  husband's 
letters.  Let  her  eye  rest  on  the  envelope  of  one  which 
she  had  received  a  week  or  a  fn-tnight  previous,  and  she 
could  repeat  its  contents  almost  verbatim,  certamly  not 
missing  one  of  the  lovmg  phrases  aforesaid.  Through  the 
ISTew  Orleans  paj^ers  and  these  same  wonderful  ej^istles 
she  followed  the  victorious  army  in  its  ouAvard  march, 
now  at  Franklin,  now  at  Opelousas,  and  now  at  Alex- 
andria. It  was  all  good  news,  except  that  her  husband 
was  forever  gomg  farther  away  ;  the  Rebels  were  always 
flying,  the  triumphant  Unionists  were  always  pursuing, 
and  tliere  were  no  more  battles.  She  flattered  herself  that 
the  summer  campaign  was  over,  and  that  Carter  would 
soon  get  a  leave  of  absence  and  come  to  his  own  home  to 
be  petted  and  worshij^ped. 

From  Alexandria  arrived  a  letter  of  Colburne's  to  the 
Doctor.  The  young  man  had  needed  all  this  time  and 
these  events  to  fortify  him  for  the  task  of  writing  to  the 
Ravenels.  For  a  while  after  that  marriage  it  seemed  to 
him  as  if  he  never  could  have  the  courage  to  meet  them, 
nor  even  call  to  their  attention  the  fact  of  his  continued 
existence.  His  congratulations  were  written  with  labored 
care,   and  the   rest   of  the   letter   in  a  style  of  afiected 


From     Secession    to     Loyalty.       273 

gayety.  I  shall  copy  from  it  a  single  extract,  because  it 
bears  some  relation  to  the  grand  reconstruction  experi- 
ment of  the  Doctor. 

"  I  hear  that  you  are  doing  your  part  towards  organiz- 
ing free  labor  in  Louisiana.  I  fear  that  you  will  find  it  an 
up-hill  business,  no*  only  from  the  nature  of  your  surround- 
ino^s  but  from  that  of  Your  material.  I  am  as  much  of  an 
abolitionist  as  ever,  but  not  so  much  of  a  'nigger-wor- 
shipper.' I  don't  know  but  that  I  shall  yet  become  an 
advocate  of  slavery.  I  frequently  think  that  my  boy 
Henry  will  fetch  me  to  it.  He  is  an  awful  boy.  He  dances 
and  gambles  all  night,  and  then  wants  to  sleep  all  day. 
If  the  nights  and  days  were  a  thousand  years  long  apiece, 
he  would  keep  it  up  in  the  same  fashion.  In  order  that  he 
may  not  be  disturbed  in  his  rest  by  my  voice,  he  goes 
aw^ay  from  camp  and  curls  up  in  some  refuge  which  I  have 
not  yet  discovered.  I  pass  hours  every  day  in  shouting 
for  Henry.  Of  course  his  labors  are  small  and  far  be- 
tween. He  brushes  my  boots  in  the  morning  because  he 
doesn't  go  to  bed  till  after  I  get  up  ;  but  if  I  want  them 
polished  during  the  day, — at  dress-parade,  for  instance, — 
it  is  not  Henry  w^ho  polishes  them.  "When  I  scold  him 
for  his  worthlessness,  he  laughs  most  obstropolously  (I 
value  myself  on  this  word,  because  to  my  ear  it  describes 
Henry's  laughter  exactly).  For  his  services,  or  rather 
for  what  he  ought  to  do  and  doesn't,  I  pay  him  ten  dol- 
lars a  month,  with  rations  and  clothing.  He  might  earn 
two  or  three  times  as  much  on  the  levee  at  Xew  Orleans  ; 
but  the  lazy  creature  would  rather  not  earn  anything  ;  he 
likes  to  get  his  living  gratis,  as  he  does  with  me.  This  is 
the  way  he  came  to  join  me.  AYhen  I  was  last  in  Xew 
Orleans,  Henry,  whom  I  had  previously  known  as  the  body 
servant  of  one  of  my  sergeants,  paid  me  a  visit.  Said  I, 
'  What  are  you  doing  ?'  " 

"  '  Workin  'on  'ee  levee.' 

"  '  How  much  do  you  get  ?' 


214         Miss    Rayenel's     Conversion 

"  '  It's  'cordin'  to  what  I  doos.  Ef  I  totes  a  big  stent, 
I  gits  two  dollars  ;  an'  ef  I  totes  'nufi*  to  kill  a  boss,  I  gits 
two  dollars  'n  'aff  a  day.' 

"  '  Why,  that  is  grand  pay.  That  is  a  great  deal  better 
than  hanging  around  camp  for  nothing  but  your  board 
and  clothes.  I  am  glad  you  have  gone  at  some  profitable 
and  manly  labor.  Stick  to  it,  and  maUe  a  man  of  yourself. 
Get  some  money  in  the  bank,  and  then  give  yourself  a 
little  schooling.  You  can  make  yourself  as  truly  respect- 
able as  any  white  man,  Henry.' 

"  '  Ya-as,'  he  said  hesitatingly,  as  if  he  thought  the  re- 
sult hardly  worth  the  trouble  ;  for  which  opinion  I  hardly 
blame  him,  considering  the  nature  of  a  great  many  white 
men  of  this  country.  'But  it  am  right  hard  work, 
Cap'm.' — Here  he  chuckled  causelessly  and  absurdly. — 
'  Sometimes  I  thinks  I'd  like  to  come  and  do  chores  for 
you,  Cap'm.' 

"  '  Oh  no,'  I  remonstrated.  '  Don't  think  of  giving  up 
your  respectable  and  profitable  industry.  I  couldn't  afford 
to  pay  you  more  than  ten  dollars  a  month." 

Here  he  laughed  in  his  obstropolous  and  irrational  fash- 
ion, signifyuig  thereby,  I  think,  that  he  was  embarrassed 
by  my  arguments. 

"  Well,  I  kinder  likes  dem  terms,"  he  said.  "  'Pears  like 
I  wants  to  have  a  good  time  better'n  to  have  a  heap  o' 
money." 

And  so  here  he  is  with  me,  havmg  a  good  time,  and 
getting  more  money  than  he  deserves.  Now  when  you 
have  freed  with  your  own  right  hand  as  many  of  these 
lazy  bumpkins  as  I  have,  you  will  feel  at  liberty  to  speak 
of  them  with  the  same  disrespectful  levity.  Wendell  Phillips 
says  that  the  negro  is  the  only  man  in  America  who  can 
afford  to  fold  his  arms  and  quietly  await  his  future.  That 
is  just  what  the  critter  is  doing,  and  just  what  puts  me 
out  of  patience  with  him.  Moreover,  he  can't  afford  it ;  if 
he  doesn't  fall  to  work  pretty  soon,  we  shall  cease  to  be 
negrophilists ;  we  shall  kick  him  out  of  doors  and  get  in 


From    Secession    to    Loyalty.  275 

somebody  who  is  not  satisfied  with  folding  his  arms  and 
waiting  his  future." 

"  He  is  too  impatient,"  said  the  Doctor,  after  he  had 
finished  reading  the  letter  to  Lillie.  "  Just  like  all  young 
people — and  some  old  ones.  God  has  chosen  to  alloAV  him- 
self a  hundred  years  to  free  the  negro.  We  must  not 
grumble  if  He  chooses  to  use  up  a  hundred  more  in  civiliz- 
ing him.  I  can  answer  that  letter,  to  my  own  satisfaction. 
What  right  has  Captain  Colburne  to  demand  roses  or  pota- 
toes of  land  which  has  been  sown  for  centuries  with  noth- 
ing but  thistles  ?  We  ought  to  be  thankful  if  it  merely 
lies  barren  for  a  while." 


CHAPTER  XX. 

CAPTAIN   COLBTJRXE    MARCHES   AND   FIGHTS    WITH    CREDIT. 

The  consideration  of  Mr.  Colburne's  letter  induces  me 
to  take  up  once  more  the  thread  of  that  young  warrior's 
history.  In  the  early  part  of  this  month  of  May,  1863,  we 
find  him  with,  his  company,  regiment  and  brigade,  en- 
camped on  the  bank  of  the  Red  River,  just  outside  of  the 
once  flourishing  little  city  of  Alexandria,  Louisiana.  Un- 
der the  j^rotection  of  a  clapboard  shanty,  five  feet  broad 
and  ten  feet  high,  which  three  or  four  of  his  men  have 
voluntarily  built  for  him,  he  is  lying  at  full  length,  smok- 
ing his  short  wooden  pipe  with  a  sense  of  luxury  ;  for  since 
he  left  his  tent  at  Brashear  City,  four  weeks  previous,  this 
is  the  first  shelter  which  he  has  had  to  protect  him  from 
the  rain,  except  one  or  two  ticklish  mansions  of  rails,  piled 
up  by  Henry  of  the  "  obstropolous  "  laughter.  The  brig- 
ade encampment,  a  mushroom  city  which  has  sprung  up 
in.  a  day,  presenting  every  imaginable  variety  of  tempora- 
ry cabin,  reaches  half  a  mile  up  and  down  the  river,  un- 
der the  shade  of  a  long  stretch  of  ashes  and  beeches.  Hun- 


276         Miss     Ravenel's     Conveksiox 

dreds  of  soldiers  are  bathing  in  the  reddish-ochre  current, 
regardless  of  the  possibility  thai  the  thick  woods  of  the 
opposite  bank  may  conceal  Rebel  marksmen. 

Colburne  has  eaten  his  dinner  of  fried  pork  and  hard- 
tack, has  washed  off  the  grime  of  a  three  days'  march,  has 
finished  his  pipe,  and  is  now  dropping  gently  into  a  sol- 
dier's child-like  yet  light  slumber.  He  does  not  mind  the 
babble  of  voices  about  him,  but  if  you  should  say  "  Fall 
in  !"  he  would  be  on  his  feet  in  an  instant.  He  is  a  hand- 
some model  of  a  warrior  as  he  lies  there,  though  rougher 
and  plainer  in  dress  than  a  painter  would  be  apt  to  make 
him.  He  is  dark-red  with  sunburn ;  gaunt  with,  bad 
food,  irregular  food,  fasting  and  severe  marching ;  gaunt 
and  wiry,  but  all  the  hardier  and  stronger  for  it,  like  a 
wolf.  His  coarse  fotigue  uniform  is  dirty  with  slee^ig  on 
the  ground,  and  with  marching  through  mud  and  clouds 
of  dust.  It  has  been  soaked  over  and  over  again  with 
rain  or  perspiration,  and  then  powdered  thickly  with  the 
fine-grained,  unctuous  soil  of  Louisiana,  until  it  is  almost 
stiff  enough  to  stand  alone.  He  cannot  wash  it,  because 
it  is  the  only  suit  he  has  brought  with  him,  and  because 
moreover  he  never  knows  but  that  he  may  be  ordered  to 
fall  in  and  march  at  five  mmutes'  notice. 

Yet  his  body  and  even  his  mind  are  in  the  soundest  and 
most  enviable  health.  His  constant  labors  and  hardships, 
and  his  occasional  perils  have  preserved  him  from  that  en- 
feebling melancholy  which  often  infects  sensitive  spirits 
upon  whom  has  beaten  a  storm  of  trouble.  Always  in  the 
open  air,  never  poisoned  by  the  neighborhood  of  four 
walls  and  a  roof,  he  never  catches  cold,  and  rarely  fails  to 
have  more  appetite  than  food.  He  has  borne  as  well  as 
the  hardiest  mason  or  fanner  those  terrific  forced  marches 
which  have  brought  the  army  from  Camp  Beasland  to 
Alexandria  on  a  hot  scent  after  the  flymg  and  scattering 
rebels.  His  feet  have  been  as  sore  as  any  man's ;  they 
have  been  bh§tered  from  toe  to  heel,  and  swollen  beyond 
their  natural  size ;  but  he  has  never  vet  laid  down  bv  the 


From    Secessiox    to    Loyalty.         27Y 

roadside  nor  crawled  into  an  army  wagon,  saying  that  he 
could  march  no  further.  He  is  loyal  and  manly  in  his 
endurance,  and  is  justly  proud  of  it.  In  one  of  his  letters 
he  says,  "  I  was  fully  repaid  for  yesterday's  stretch  of 
thirty-five  miles  by  Overhearing  one  of  my  Irishmen  say, 

while  washing  his  bloody  feet,  '  Be !  but  he's  a  hardy 

man,  the  Captin  !'— To  which  another  responded,  '  An'  he 
had  his  hands  full  to  kape  the  byes'  courage  up ;  along  in 
the  afthernoon,  he  was  a  jokin'  an'  scoldin'  an'  eucoura^'o-in' 

for  ten  miles  together.     Be . !  an'  when  he  gives  oul.it 

'ull  be  for  good  rayson.'  " 

From  Alexandria,  BanJ^s  suddenly  shifted  his  army  to 
the  junction  of  the  Red  River  with  the  Mississippi,  and 
from  thence  by  transport  to  a  pomt  north  of  Port  Hudson, 
thus  cutting  it  ofi  from  communication  with  the  Confed- 
eracy. In  this  movement  TVeitzel  took  command  of  the 
Reserve  Brigade  and  covered  the  rear  of  the  column.  By 
night  it  made  prodigious  marches,  and  by  day  lay  in 
threatening  line  of  battle.  The  Rebel  Cavalry,  timid  and 
puzzled,  followed  at  a  safe  distance  without  attackiuo-. 
Xow  came  the  delicious  sail  fi-om  Simmsport  to  Bayoii 
Sara,  during  which  Colburne  could  lounge  at  ease  on  the 
deck  with  a  sense  of  luxury  in  the  mere  consciousness  that 
he  was  not  marchmg,  and  repose  his  mind,  his  eyes,  his 
very  muscles,  by  gazing  on  the  fresh  green  bluffs  which 
faced  each  other  across  the  river.  To  a  native  of  hilly 
New  England,  who  had  passed  above  a  year  on  the  flats 
of  Louisiana,  it  was  delightful  to  look  once  more  upon  a 
rolling  country. 

It  was  through  an  atmosphere  of  scalding  heat  and  sti- 
fling dust  that  the  brigade  marched  up  the  bluffs  of  Bayou 
Sara  and  over  the  rounded  eminences  which  stretched  on 
to  Port  Hudson.  The  perspiration  which  drenched  the 
ragged  uniforms  and  the  pulverous  soil  which  powdered 
them  rapidily  mixed  into  a  muddy  plaster ;  and  the  same 
plaster  grimed  the  men's  faces  out  of  almost  all  semblance 
to  humanity,  except  where  the  dust  clung  dry  and  gray 


278         Miss     Raven  el's     Conversion 

to  hair,  beard,  eyebrows  and  eyelashes.  So  dense  was  the 
distressing  cloud  that  it  was  impossible  at  times  to  see  the 
length  of  a  company.  It  seemed  as  if  the  men  would  go 
rabid  with  thirst,  and  drive  the  officers  mad  with  their 
pleadings  to  leave  the  ranks  for  water,  a  privilege  not  al- 
lowable to  any  great  extent  in  an  enemy's  country.  A 
lovely  crystal  streamlet,  i-unning  knee-deep  over  clean  yel- 
low sand,  a  charming  contrast  to  black  or  brown  bayous 
with  muddy  and  treacherous  banks,  was  forded  by  the 
feverish  ranks  with  shouts  and  laughter  of  child-like  enjoy- 
ment. But  it  was  through  volumes  of  burning  yet  lazy 
dust,  soiling  and  darkening  the  glory  of  sunset,  that  the 
brigade  reached  its  appointed  bivouac  in  a  large  clearing, 
only  two  miles  from  the  rebel  stronghold,  though  hidden 
from  it  by  a  dense  forest  of  oaks,  beeches  and  magnolias. 

It  is  too  early  to  tell,  it  is  even  too  early  to  know,  the 
whole  truth  concerning  the  siege  of  Port  Hudson.  To  an 
honest  man,  anxious  that  the  world  shall  not  be  hum- 
bugged, it  is  a  mournful  reflection  that  ^^erhaps  the  whole 
truth  never  will  be  known  to  any  one  who  will  dare  or 
care  to  tell  it.  "We  gained  a  victory  there ;  we  took  an 
important  step  towards  the  end  of  the  Rebellion ;  but  at 
what  cost,  through  what  means,  and  by  whose  merit  ?  It 
was  a  capital  idea, whosesoever  it  was,  to  clean  out  Taylor's 
Texan s  and  Louisianians  from  the  Teche  country  before 
we  undertook  the  siege  of  Gardner's  Arkansians,  Alaba- 
mians,  and  Mississippians  at  Port  Hudson.  But  for  some- 
body's blunder  at  that  well-named  locality,  Ii'ish  Bend,  the 
plan  would  have  succeeded  better  than  it  did,  and  Taylor 
would  not  have  been  able  to  reorganize,  take  Brashear 
City,  threaten  Xew  Orleans,  and  come  near  driving  Banks 
from  his  main  enterprise.  As  it  was  we  opened  the  siege 
with  fair  prospects  of  success,  and  no  disturbing  force  in 
the  rear.  The  garrison,  lately  fifteen  or  twenty  thousand 
strong,  had  been  reduced  to  six  thousand,  in  order  to  re- 
inforce Yicksburg  ;  and  Joe  Johnston  had  already  direct- 
ed Gardner  to  destroy  his  fortifications  and  transfer  all  his 


.  From    Secession    to    Loyalty.         279 

men  to  the  great  scene  of  contest  on  the  central  Mississippi. 
Banks  arrived  from  Simmsport  just  in  time  to  prevent 
the  execution  of  this  order.  A  smart  skirmish  was  fought, 
in  which  we  lost  more  men  than  the  enemy,  but  forced 
Gardner  to  retire  within  his  works,  and  accept  the  eventu- 
alities of  an  investment. 

At  five  o'clock  on  the  morning  of  the  27th  of  May,  Col- 
burne  was  awakened  by  an  order  to  fall  in.  Whether  it 
signified  an  advance  on  our  part,  or  a  sally  by  the  enemy, 
he  did  not  know  nor  ask,  but  with  a  soldier's  indifference 
proceeded  to  form  his  company,  and,  that  done,  ate  his 
breakfast  of  raw  pork  and  hard  biscuit.  He  would  have 
been  glad  to  have  Henry  boil  him  a  cup  of  coffee  ;  but  that 
idle  freedman  was  "  having  a  good  time,"  probably  sleep- 
ing, in  some  unknown  refuge.  For  two  hours  the  ranks 
sat  on  the  ground,  musket  in  hand ;  then  Colburne  saw 
the  foremost  line,  a  quarter  of  a  mile  m  front,  advance 
into  the  forest.  One  of  Weitzel's  aids  now  dashed  up  to 
Carter,  and  immediately  his  staff-oflicers  galloped  away  to 
the  difterent  commanders  of  recriments.  An  admonishinsj 
murmur  of  "  Fall  in,  men  !" — "  Attention,  men  !"  from  the 
captams  ran  along  the  line  of  the  Tenth,  and  the  soldiers 
rose  in  their  j)laces  to  meet  the  grand,  the  awful  possibili- 
ty of  battle.  It  was  a  long  row  of  stern  faces,  bronzed 
with  simburn,  sallow  in  many  cases  with  malaria,  grave 
with  the  serious  emotions  of  the  hour,  but  hardened  by  the 
habit  of  danger,  and  set  as  firm  as  flmts  toward  the  ene- 
my. The  old  mnocence  of  the  peaceable  Xew  England 
farmer  and  mechanic  had  disappeared  from  these  war- 
seared  visages,  and  had  been  succeeded  by  an  expression 
of  hardened  combativeness,  not  a  little  brutal,  much  like 
the  look  of  a  lazy  bull-dog.  Colburne  smiled  with  pleas- 
ure and  pride  as  he  glanced  along  the  line  of  his  company, 
and  noted  this  change  in  its  physiognomy.  For  the  pur- 
pose for  which  they  were  drawn  up  there  they  were  bet- 
ter men  than  when  he  first  knew  them,  and  as  good  men 
as  the  sun  ever  shone  upon. 


280  ]\[  I  S  S       R  A  V  E  N  E  L  '  S       CONVERSION 

At  last  the  Lieutenant-Coloners  voice  rang  out,  "  Bat- 
talion, forward.     Guide  right.     March !" 

To  keep  the  ranks  closed  and  aligned  in  any  tolerable 
fio-htino-  shape  while  strugglmg  through  that  mile  of  tan- 
gled forest  and  broken  ground,  was  a  task  of  terrible  diffi- 
culty. Plunging  through  thickets,  leaping  over  fallen 
trees,  a  contmuous  foliage  overhead,  and  the  fallen  leaves 
of  many  seasons  under  foot,  the  air  full  of  the  damp, 
mouldering  smell  of  virgin  forest,  the  brigade  moved  for- 
Avard  with  no  sound  but  that  of  its  own  tramplmgs.  It  is 
peculiar  of  the  American  attack  that  it  is  almost  always 
made  in  Ime,  and  always  without  music.  The  men  ex- 
pected to  meet  the  enemy  at  every  hillock,  but  they  ad- 
vanced rapidly,  and  laughed  at  each  other's  slippings  and 
tumbles.  Every  body  was  breathless  with  climbmg  over 
obstacles  or  running  around  them.  The  officers  were  be- 
gmning  to  swear  at  the  broken  ranks  and  unsteady  pace. 
The  Lieutenant-Colonel,  perceiving  that  the  regiment  was 
diverging  from  its  comrades,  and  fearing  the  consequences 
of  a  gap  in  case  the  enemy  should  suddenly  open  fire,  rode 
repeatedly  up  and  down  the  line,  yellmg,  "  Guide  right ! 
Close  up  to  the  right !"  Suddenly,  to  the  amazement  of 
every  one,  the  brigade  came  upon  bivouacs  of  Union  regi- 
ments quietly  engaged  in  distributing  rations  and  prepar- 
uig  breakfast. 

"  AYhat  are  you  doing  up  here  ?"  asked  a  Major  of  Col- 
burne. 

"  We  are  gomg  to  attack.    Don't  you  take  part  in  it  ?" 

"  I  suppose  so.  I  don't  know.  We  have  received  no 
orders." 

Through  this  scene  of  tardmess,  the  result  perhaps'  of 
one  of  those  blunders  which  are  known  in  military  as  well 
as  in  all  other  human  operations,  Weitzel's  division  steadily 
advanced,  much  wondering  if  it  was  to  storm  Port  Hudson 
alone.  The  ground  soon  proved  so  difficult  that  the  Tenth, 
unable  to  move  in  line  of  battle,  filed  into  a  faintly  marked 
forest  road  and  pushed  forward  by  the  flank  in  the   ordin- 


From    Secession    to     Loyalty.       281 

ary  column  of  march.  The  battle  had  already  commenced, 
although  Colburne  could  see  nothmg  of  it,  and  could  hear 
nothing  but  a  dull  pum-jnun-pum  of  cannon.  He  passed 
•  rude  rifle-pits  made  of  earth  and  large  branches,  which  had 
been  carried  only  a  few  minutes  j^revious  by  the  confused 
rush  of  the  leading  brigade.  Away  to  the  right,  but  not 
near  enough  to  be  heard  above  the  roar  of  artillery,  there 
was  a  wild,  scattering  musketry  of  broken  lines,  fighting 
and  scrambling  along  as  they  best  could  over  thicketed 
knolls,  and  through  rugged  gullies,  on  the  track  of  the  re- 
tiring Alabamians  and  Arkansans.  It  was  the  blindest 
and  most  perplexing  forest  labyi'uith  conceivable  ;  it  was 
impossible  to  tell  whither  you  were  going,  or  whether  you 
would  stumble  on  friends  or  enemies ;  the  regiments  were 
split  into  little  squads  from  which  all  order  had  disap- 
l^eared,  but  which  nevertheless  advanced. 

The  Tenth  was  still  marching  through  the  woods  by  the 
flank,  unable  to  see  either  fortifications  or  enemy,  when  it 
came  under  the  fire  of  artillery,  and  encountered  the  re- 
tu-ing  stream  of  wounded.  At  this  moment,  and  for  two 
hours  afterward,  the  uproar  of  heavy  guns,  bursting  shells, 
falling  trees  and  flying  splinters  was  astonishing,  stun- 
ning, horrible,  doubled  as  it  was  by  the  sonorous  echoes 
of  the  forest.  Magnolias,  oaks  and  beeches  eighteen 
inches  or  two  feet  in  diameter,  were  cut  asunder  with  a 
deafening  scream  of  shot  and  of  splitting  fibres,  the  tops 
falling  after  a  pause  of  majestic  deliberation,  not  sidewise, 
but  stem  downwards,  like  a  descending  parachute,  and 
striking  the  e^rth  with  a  dull  shuddering  thunder.  They 
seemed  to  give  up  their  life  with  a  roar  of  animate  an- 
guish, as  if  they  were  savage  beasts,  or  as  if  they  were  in- 
habited by  Afreets  and  Demons. 

The  unusually  horrible  clamor  and  the  many-sided  na- 
ture of  the  danger  had  an  evident  efiect  on  the  soldiers, 
hardened  as  they  Avere  to  scenes  of  ordinary  battle.  Grim 
faces  turned  in  every  direction  with  hasty  stares  of  alarm, 
looking  aloft  and  on  every  side,  as  well  as  to  the  front,  for 


282         Miss    Ravexel's     Conversion 

destruction.  Pallid  stragglers  who  had  dropped  out  of 
the  leading  brigade  drifted  by  the  Tenth,  dodging  from 
trunk  to  trunk  in  an  instinctive  search  for  cover,  although 
it  was  visible  that  the  forest  was  no  protection,  but  ra- 
ther an  additional  peril.  Every  regiment  has  its  two  or 
three  cowards,  or  perhaps  its  half-dozen,  weakly-nerved 
creatures,  whom  nothing  can  make  fight,  and  who  never 
do  fight.  One  abject  hound,  a  corporal  with  his  dis- 
graced stripes  upon  his  arm,  came  by  with  a  ghastly 
backward  glare  of  horror,  his  face  colorless,  his  eyes  pro- 
jectmg,  and  his  chin  shaking.  Colburne  cursed  him  for 
a  poltroon,  struck  him  with  the  flat  of  his  sabre,  and 
dragged  him  mto  the  ranks  of  his  own  regiment ;  but 
the  miserable  creature  was  too  thoroughly  unmanned  by 
the  great  horror  of  death  to  be  moved  to  any  show  of 
resentment  or  even  of  courage  by  the  indignity ;  he  on- 
ly gave  an  idiotic  stare  with  outstretched  neck  toward 
the  front,  then  turned  with  a  nervous  jerk,  like  that  of  a 
scared  beast,  and  rushed  rearward.  Further  on,  six  men 
were  standing  in  smgle  file  behind  a  large  beech,  holding 
each  other  by  the  shoulders,  when  with  a  stunnmg  crash 
the  entu-e  top  of  the  tree  flew  off  and  came  down  among 
them  butt  foremost,  sendmg  out  a  cloud  of  dust  and  splin- 
ters. Colburne  smiled  grimly  to  see  the  paralyzed  terror 
of  their  upward  stare,  and  the  frantic  flight  which  barely 
saved  them  from  being  crushed  jelly.  A  nian  who  keeps 
the  ranks  hates  a  skulker,  and  wishes  that  he  may  be 
killed,  the  same  as  any  other  enemy. 

"  But  m  truth,"  says  the  Captain,  in  one  of  his  letters, 
"  the  sights  and  sounds  of  this  battle-reaped  forest  were 
enough  to  shake  the  firmest  nerves.  Never  before  had  I 
been  so  tried  as  I  was  during  that  hour  in  this  wilderness 
of  death.  It  was  not  the  slaughter  which  nnmanned  me, 
for  our  regiment  did  not  lose  very  heavily  ;  it  was  the  stu- 
pendous clamor  of  the  cannonade  and  of  the  crashing  trees 
which  seemed  to  overwhelm  me  by  its  mere  physical 
power ;  and  it  made  me  unable  to  bear  spectacles  which  I 


From     Secession    to     Loyalty.       283 

had  witnessed  in  other  engagements  with  perfect  compos- 
ure. When  one  of  our  men  was  borne  by  me  with  half 
his  foot  torn  ofl*  by  a  round  shot,  the  splintered  bones  pro- 
jecting clean  and  white  from  the  ragged  raw  flesh,  I  grew 
so  sick  that  perhaps  I  might  have  fainted  if  a  brother  ofli- 
cer  had  not  given  me  a  sip  of  whiskey  from  his  canteen. 
It  was  the  only  occasion  iij  my  fighting  experience  when 
I  have  had  to  resort  to  that  support.  I  had  scarcely  re- 
covered myself  when  I  saw  a  broad  flow  of  blood  stream 
down  the  face  of  a  color-corj)oral  who  stood  withm  arm's- 
length  of  me.  I  thought  he  was  surely  a  dead  man  ;  but  it 
was  only  one  of  the  wonderful  escapes  of  battle.  The  bul- 
let had  skirted  his  cap  where  the  fore-piece  joins  the  cloth, 
forcing  the  edge  of  the  leather  through  the  skin,  and  mak- 
ing a  clean  cut  to  the  bone  from  temple  to  temple.  He 
went  to  the  rear  blmded  and  with  a  smart  headache,  but 
not  seriously  injured.  That  we  were  not  slaughtered  by 
the  wholesale  is  wonderful,  for  we  were  closed  up  in  a 
compact  mass,  and  the  shot  came  with  stunning  rapidity. 
A  shell  burst  in  the  centre  of  my  company,  tearing  one 
man's  heel  to  the  bone,  but  doing  no  other  damage.  The 
wounded  man,  a  good  soldier  though  as  quiet  and  gentle 
as  a  bashful  girl,  touched  his  hat  to  me,  showed  his  bleed- 
ing foot,  and  asked  leave  to  go  to  the  rear,  which  I  of 
course  granted.  "^VTiile  he  was  sj^eaking,  another  shell 
burst  about  six  feet  from  the  first,  doing  no  harm  at  all, 
although  so  near  to  Yan  Zandt  as  to  dazzle  and  deafen 
him." 

Presently  a  section  of  Bainbridge's  regular  battery  came 
up,  winding  slowly  through  the  forest,  the  guns  thump- 
ing c^'er  roots  and  fallen  limbs,  the  men  sitting  superbly 
erect  on  their  horses,  and  the  color-sergeant  holding  his 
battle-flag  as  proudly  as  a  knight-errant  ever  bore  his  pen- 
non. In  a  minute  the  two  brass  Xapoleons  opened  with  a 
sonorous  spang,  which  drew  a  spontaneous  cheer  from 
the  delighted  infantry.  The  edge  of  the  wood  was  now 
reached,  and  Colburne  could  see  the  enemy's  position.     In 


284         Miss     Raven  el's     Conversiox 

front  of  him  lay  a  broad  and  curving  valley,  irregular  in 
surface,  and  seamed  in  some  places  by  rugged  gorges,  the 
whole  made  more  difficult  of  passage  by  a  multitude  of 
felled  trees,  the  leafless  trunks  and  branches  of  which 
were  tano-led  into  an  inextricable  chevauz  defnse.  On  the 
other  side  of  this  valley  rose  a  bluff  or  table-land,  partially 
covered  with  forest,  but  showing  on  its  cleared  spaces  the 
tents  and  cabms  of  the  Rebel  encampments.  .  Along  the 
edge  of  the  bluff,  followmg  its  sinuosities,  and  at  this  dis- 
tance looking  like  mere  natural  banks  of  yellow  earth,  ran 
the  fortifications  of  Port  Hudson.  Colburne  could  see 
Paine's  brigade  of  Weitzel's  division  descending  into  the 
valley,  forcing  its  bloody  way  through  a  roarmg  cannon- 
ade and  a  continuous  screech  of  musketry. 

An  order  came  to  the  commander  of  the  Tenth  to  deploy 
two  companies  as  skirmishers  in  the  hollow  in  front  of 
Bainbridge,  and  push  to  the  left  with  the  remainder  of 
the  regiment,  throwmg  out  other  skirmishers  and  silencing 
the  Rebel  artillery.  One  of  the  two  detached  companies 
was  Colburne's,  and  he  took  command  of  both  as  senior 
officer.  At  the  moment  that  he  filed  his  men  out  of  the 
line  a  murmur  ran  through  the  regiment  that  the  Lieuten- 
ant-Colonel was  killed  or  badly  wounded.  Then  came  an 
mquiry  as  to  the  whereabouts* of  the  Major. 

"  By  Jove  !  it  wouldn't  be  a  dangerous  job  to  hunt  for 
him,"  chuckled  Van  Zandt. 

"  TThy  ?     Where  is  he  ?"  asked  Colburne. 

"  I  don't  beUeve,  by  Jove  !  that  I  could  say  within  a 
mile  or  two.  I  only  know,  by  Jove  !  that  he  is  no7i  est 
inventus.  I  saw  him  a  quarter  of  an  hour  ago  charging 
for  the  rear  with  his  usual  impetuosity.  I'll  bet  myever- 
lasting  salvation  that  he's  in  the  safest  spot  within  ten 
miles  of  this  d d  unhealthy  neighborhood." 

The  senior  captain  took  command  of  the  regiment,  and 
led  it  tjo  the  left  on  a  line  parallel  with  the  fortifications. 
Colburne  descended  with  his  little  detachment,  numbering 
about  eighty  muskets,  into  that  Valley  of  the  Shadow  of 


From     Secessio2«-     to     Loyalty.         285 

Death,  climbiiig  over  or  creeping  under  the  fallen  trunks 
of  the  tangled  labyrmth,  and  making  straight  for  the  bluff 
on  which  thundered  and  smoked  the  rebel  stronghold. 
As  his  men  advanced  they  deployed,  spreading  outwards 
like  the  diverging  blades  of  a  fan  until  they  covered  a 
front  of  nearly  a  quarter  of  a  mile.  Every  stump,  every 
prostrate  trunk,  every  knoll  and  gulley  was  a  temporary 
breastwork,  from  behind  which  they  poured  a  slow  but 
fatal  fire  upon  the  rebel  gunners,  who  could  be  plainly 
seen  upon  the  hostile  parapet  working  their  pieces.  The 
officers  and  sergeants  moved  up  and  down  the  line,  each 
behind  his  own  platoon  or  section,  steadily  urging  it  for- 
ward. 

"  Move  on,  men.  Move  on,  men,"  Colburne  repeated. 
"  Don't  expose  yourselves.  Use  the  covers ;  use  the 
stumps.  But  keep  moving  on.  Don't  take  root.  Don't 
stop  till  we  I'each  the  ditch." 

In  spite  of  their  intelligent  prudence  the  men  were  fall- 
mg  under  the  incessant  flight  of  bullets.  A  loud  scream 
from  a  thicket  a  little  to  Colburne's  right  attracted  his  at- 
tention. 

"Who  is  that  ?"  he  called. 

'•  It  is  Allen !"  replied  a  sergeant.  "  He  is  shot  through 
the  body.     Shall  I  send  him  to  the  rear  ?" 

"  'Not  now,  wait  till  we  are  relieved.  Proj)  him  up  and 
leave  him  in  the  shade." 

He  had  in  his  mind  this  passage  of  the  Army  Regula- 
tions :  "  Soldiers  must  not  be  permitted  to  leave  the  ranks 
to  strip  or  rob  the  dead,  nor  even  to  assist  the  wounded, 
unless  by  express  permission,  which  is  only  to  be  given 
after  the  action  is  decided.  The  highest  interest  and  most 
pressing  duty  is  to  win  the  victory,  by  which  only  can  a 
proper  care  of  the  wounded  be  ensured." 

Turnmg  to  a  soldier  who  had  mounted  a  log  and  stood 
up  at  the  full  height  of  his  six  feet  to  survey  the  fii-tifica- 
tions,  Colburne  shouted,  "  Jump  down,  you  fool.  Ycu 
will  get  yourself  hit  for  nothing." 


286         Miss     Ravexel's     Conversion 

"  Captain,  I  can't  see  a  chance  for  a  shot,"  replied  the 
fellow  deliberately. 

"  Get  down !"  reiterated  Colburne ;  but  the  man  had 
waited  too  long  already.  Throwing  up  both  hands  he  fell 
backward  with  an  incoherent  gurgle,  pierced  through  the 
lungs  by  a  rifle-ball.  Then  a  little  Irish  soldier  burst  out 
swearing,  and  hastily  pulled  his  trousers  to  glare  at  a  bul- 
let-hole through  the  calf  of  his  leg,  with  a  comical  expres- 
sion of  mingled  surprise,  alarm  and  wrath.  And  so  it  went 
on;  every  few  minutes  there  was  an  oath  of  rage  or  a 
shriek  of  j^ain  ;  and  each  outcry  marked  the  loss  of  a  man. 
But  all  the  while  the  line  of  skiiTuishers  advanced. 

The  sickishness  which  troubled  Colburne  in  the  cannon- 
smitten  forest  had  gone,  and  was  succeeded  by  the  tierce 
excitement  of  close  battle,  where  the  combatants  grow 
angry  and  savage  at  sight  of  each  other's  faces.  He  was 
throbbing  with  elation  and  confidence,  for  he  had  cleaned 
off  the  gunners  from  the  two  pieces  in  his  front.  He  felt 
as  if  he  could  take  Port  Hudson  with  his  detachment 
alone.  The  contest  was  raging  in  a  clamorous  rattle  of 
musketry  on  the  right,  where  Paine's  brigade,  and  four 
regiments  of  the  Reserve  Brigade,  all  broken  into  detach- 
ments by  gullies,  hillocks,  thickets  and  fallen  trees,  were 
struggling  to  turn  and  force  the  fortifications.  On  his  left 
other  companies  of  the  Tenth  were  slowly  movmg  forward, 
deployed  and  firing  as  skirmishers.  In  his  front  the  Rebel 
musketry  gradually  slackened,  and  only  now  and  then 
could  he  see  a  broad-brimmed  hat  show  above  the  earth- 
works and  hear  the  hoarse  whistle  of  a  Minie-ball  as  it  passed 
him.  The  garrison  on  this  side  was  clearly  both  few  m 
number  and  disheartened.  It  seemed  to  him  likely,  yes 
even  certain,  that  Port  Hudson  would  be  carried  by  stoi-m 
that  morning.  At  the  same  time,  half  mad  as  he  was  with 
the  glorious  intoxication  of  successful  battle,  he  knew  that 
it  would  be  utter  folly  to  push  his  unsupported  detach- 
ment into  the  works,  and  that  such  a  movement  would 
probably  end  in  slaughter  or  capture.     Fifteen  or  twenty. 


From     Secession    to     Loyalty.       287 

he  did  not  know  precisely  how  many,  of  his  soldiers  had 
been  hit,  and  the  survivors  were  getting  short  of  cart- 
ridges. 

"  Steady,  men  !"  he  shouted.  "  Halt !  Take  cover  and 
hold  your  position.  Don't  waste  your  powder.  Fire  slow 
and  aim  sure." 

The"orders  Avere  echoed  from  man  to  man  along  the  ex- 
tended, straggluig  line,  and  each  one  disappeared  behind 
the  nearest  thicket,  stump  or  fallen  tree.  Colbume  had 
already  sent  three  corporals  to  the  regiment  to  recount  his 
success  and  beg  for  more  men  ;  but  neither  had  the  mes- 
sengers reappeared  nor  reinforcements  arrived  to  support 
his  proposed  assault. 

"Those  fellows  must  have  got  themselves  shot,"  he  said 
to  Van  Zandt.  "  I'll  go  myself.  Keep  the  line  where  it 
is,  and  save  the  cartridges." 

Taking  a  single  soldier  with  him,  he  hurried  rearward 
by  the  clearest  course  that  he  could  find  through  the  pros- 
trate forest,  without  minding  the  few  bullets  that  whizzed 
by  him.  Suddenly  he  halted,  powerless,  as  if  struck  by 
paralysis,  conscious  of  a  general  nervous  shock,  and  a  sharp 
pain  in  his  left  arm.  His  first  impulse, — a  very  hurried 
impulse, — was  to  take  the  arm  with  his  right  hand  and 
t^dst  it  to  see  if  the  bone  was  broken.  Xext  he  looked 
about  him  for  some  shelter  from  the  scorching  and  crazing 
sunshine.  He  espied  a  green  bush,  and  almost  immediately 
lost  sight  of  it,  for  the  shock  made  hun  faint  although  the 
paui  was  but  momentary. 

"  Are  you  hurt.  Captain  ?"  asked  the  soldier. 

"  Take  me  to  that  bush,"  said  Colburne,  pointing — for 
he  knew  where  the  cover  was,  although  he  could  not  see  it. 

The  soldier  put  an  arm  round  his  waist,  led  him  to  the 
bush,  and  laid  him  down. 

"  Shall  I  go  for  help.  Captain  ?" 

"  Xo.  Don't  weaken  the  company.  All  right.  Xo 
bones  broken.     Go  on  in  a  minute." 

The  man  tied  his  handkerchief  about  the  ragged  'and 


288         Miss     Ravenel's     Conversion 

bloody  hole  in  the  coat-sleeve ;  then  sat  down  and  reloaded 
his  musket,  occasionally  casting  a  glance  at  the  pale  face 
of  the  Captain.  In  two  or  three  minutes  Colburne's  color 
came  back,  and  he  felt  as  well  as  ever.  He  rose  carefully 
to  his  feet,  looked  about  him  as  if  to  see  where  he  was, 
and  again  set  off  for  the  regiment,  followed  by  his  silent 
companion.  The  bullets  still  Avhizzed  about  them,  }fut  did 
no  harm.  After  a  slow  walk  of  ten  mmutes,  during  wliicli 
Colburne  once  stopped  to  sling  his  arm  in  a  handkerchief, 
he  emerged  from  a  winding  gully  to  find  himself  within  a 
few  yards  of  Bainbridge's  battery.  Behmd  the  guns  was 
a  colonel  calmly  sitting  his  horse  and  watching  the  battle. 

"  What  is  the  matter  ?"  asked  the  Colonel. 

"  A  flesh  wound,"  said  Colburne.  "  Colonel,  there  is  a 
noble  chance  ahead  of  you.  Do  you  see  that  angle  ?  My 
men  are  at  the  base  of  it,  and  some  of  them  in  the  ditch. 
They  have  driven  the  artillerymen  from  the  guns,  and 
forced  the  infantry  to  lie  low.  For  God's  sake  send  ui 
your  regiment.     We  can  certainly  carry  the  j^lace." 

"  The  entire  brigade  that  I  command  is  engaged,"  re- 
plied the  Colonel.  "  Don't  you  see  them  on  the  right  of 
your  position  ?" 

"  Is  there  no  other  force  about  here  ?"  asked  Colburne, 
sitting  down  as  he  felt  the  dizziness  coming  over  him  again. 

"  Xone  that  I  know  of  This  is  such  an  infernal  country 
for  movements  that  we  are  all  dislocated.  Xobody  knows 
where  anythmg  is. — But  you  had  better  go  to  the  rear, 
Captam.     You  look  used  up." 

Colburne  was  so  tired,  so  weak  with  the  loss  of  blood, 
so  worn  out  by  the  heat  of  the  sun,  and  the  excitement  of 
fighting  that  he  could  not  help  feeling  discouraged  at  the 
thought  of  struggling  back  to  the  position  of  his  company. 
He  stretched  himself  under  a  tree  to  rest,  and  in  ten  minutes 
was  fast  asleep.  TVhen  he  awoke — he  never  knew  how 
long  afterwards — he  could  not  at  first  tell  what  he  re- 
membered from  what  he  had  dreamed,  and  only  satisfied 
himself  that  he  had  been  hit  bv  lookmg  at  his  bloody  and 


Fko:^!     Secession     to     Loyalty.       289 

bandaged  arm.  An  artilleryman  brought  him  to  his  full 
consciousness  by  shoutmg  excitedly,  "  There,  by  God  ! 
they  are  trying  a  charge.  The  infantry  are  trying  a 
charge." 

Colburne  rose  up,  saw  a  regiment  struggling,  across  the 
valley,  and  heard  its  long-drawn  charging  yell. 

"  I  must  go  back,"  he  exclaimed.  "  My  men  ought  to 
go  in  and  sujDport  those  fellows."  Turning  to  the  soldier 
who  attended  him  he  added,  "  Run !  Tell  Van  Zandt  to 
forward." 

The  soldier  ran,  and  Colburne  after  him.  But  he  had 
not  gone  twenty  paces  before  he  fell  straight  forward  on 
his  face,  without  a  word,  and  lay  perfectly  still. 


CHAPTER  XXI. 

CAPTAIN   COLBUENE   HAS   OCCASION   TO    SEE   LIFE    IN   A 
HOSPITAL. 

"When  Colburne  came  to  himself  he  was  lying  on  the 
ground  in  rear  of  the  pieces.  Beside  him,  in  the  shadow 
of  the  same  tuft  of  withering  bushes,  lay  a  wounded  lieu- 
tenant of  the  battery  and  four  wounded  artillerists.  A 
dozen  steps  away,  raj^idly  blackening  in  the  scorching  sun 
and  sweltering  aii*,  were  two  more  artillerists,  stark  dead, 
one  with  his  brains  bulging  from  a  bullet-hole  in  his  fore- 
head, while  a  dark  claret-colored  streak  crossed  his  face, 
the  other's  light-blue  trousers  soaked  with  a  dirty  carna- 
tion stain  of  life-blood  drawn  from  the  femoral  artery. 
Xone  of  the  wounded  men  writhed,  or  groaned,  or  j^leaded 
for  succor,  althouojh  a  sweat  of  suiferins^  stood  m  o*reat 
drops  on  their  faces.  Each  had  cried  out  when  he  was  hit, 
uttering  either  an  oath,  or  the  simple  exclamation  "  Oh  I" 
in  a  tone  of  dolorous  surprise ;  one  had  shrieked  spasmod- 
ically, physically  crazed  by  the  shock  administered  to 
some  important  nervous  centre  ;  but  all,  sooner  or  later, 


290  Miss    Ravenel's     Contersiox 

had  settled  into  the  calm,  sublime  patience  of  the  wounded 
of  the  battle-field. 

The  brass  Xajioleons  were  still  spanging  sonorously,  and 
there  was  a  ceaseless  spitting  of  irregular  musketry  in  the 
distance. 

"  Didn't  the  assault  succeed  ?"  asked  Colburne  as  soon 
as  he  had  got  his  wits  about  him. 

"  No  sir — it  was  beat  off,"  said  one  of  the  wounded  ar- 
tillerists. 

"You've  had  a  faint,  su',"  he  added  with  a  smile. 
"  That  was  a  smart  tumble  you  got.  We  saw  you  go  over, 
and  brought  you  back  here." 

"  I  am  very  much  obliged,"  replied  Colburne.  His  ann 
pained  him  now,  his  head  ached  frightfully,  his  whole 
frame  was  feverish,  and  he  thought  of  Xew  England 
brooks  of  cool  water.  In  a  few  minutes  Lieutenant  Van 
Zandt  appeared,  his  dark  face  a  little  paler  than  usual,  and 
the  right  shoulder  of  his  blouse  pierced  with  a  ragged  and 
bloody  bullet-hole. 

"  Well,  Ca^Dtain,"  said  he,  "  we  have  got,  by  Jove  !  our 
allowance  of  to-day's  rations.  Hadn't  we  better  look  up 
a  doctor's  shop  ?  I  feel,  by  the  everlastmg  Jove  ! — excuse 
nie — that  I  stand  in  need  of  a  sup  of  whiskey.  Lieutenant 
— I  beg  your  pardon — I  see  you  are  wounded — I  hope 
you're  not  much  hurt,  sir — but  have  you  a  drop  of  the 
article  about  the  battery  ?  No !  By  Jupiter  !  You  go 
into  action  mighty  short  of  ammunition.  I  beg  your  par- 
don for  troubling  you.  This  is,  by  Jove  !  the  dryest 
fighting  that  I  ever  saw.  I  wish  I  was  in  Mexico,  and 
had  a  gourd  of  aguaardiente." 

By  the  way,  I  wish  the  reader  to  understand  that,  when 
I  introduce  a  "  By  Jove  !"  into  Van  Zandt's  conversation, 
it  is  to  be  understood  that  that  very  remarkably  profane 
officer  and  gentleman  used  the  great  Name  of  the  True 
Divmity. 

"  Where  is  the  company.  Lieutenant  ?"  asked  Colburne. 

"  Relieved,  sir.     Both  companies  were  relieved  and  or- 


From     Secession    to     Loyalty.         291 

dered  back  to  the  regiment  fifteen  or  twenty  minutes  ago, 
I  got  this  welt  ui  the  shoulder  just  as  I  was  coming  out  of 
that  damned  hollow.  We  may  as  well  go  along,  sir.  Our 
day's  fight  is  over." 

"  So  the  attack  failed,"  said  Colburne,  as  they  took  up 
their  slow  march  to  the  rear  in  search  of  a  field  hospital. 

"  Broken  up  by  the  ground,  sir ;  beaten  off  by  the  mus- 
ketry. '  Couldn't  put  more  than  a  man  or  two  on  the  ram- 
parts. Played  out  before  it  got  any  where,  just  like  a 
wave  coming  up  a  sandy  beach.  It  was  only  a  regiment. 
It  ought  t6  have  been  a  brigade.  But  a  regiment  might 
have  done  it,  if  it  had  been  shoved  in  earlier.  That  was 
the  time,  su-,  when  you  went  off  for  reinforcements.  If 
we  had  had  the  bully  old  Tenth  there  then,  we  could  have 
taken  Port  Hudson  alone.  Just  after  you  left,  the  Rebs 
raised  the  white  flag,  and  a  whole  battalion  of  them  came 
out  on  our  right  and  stacked  arms.  Some  of  our  men 
spoke  to  them,  and  asked  what  they  were  after.  They 
said — by  Jove  !  it's  so,  sir  ! — they  said  they  had  surren- 
dered. Then  down  came  some  Rebel  General  or  other,  in 
a  tearing  rage,  and  marched  them  back  behind  the  works. 
The  charge  came  too  late.  They  beat  it  off  easy.  They 
took  the  starch  out  of  that  Twelfth  Maine,  sir.  I  have 
seen  to-day,  by  Jove  !  the  value  of  minutes." 

Before  they  had  got  out  of  range  of  the  Rebel  musketry 
they  came  upon  a  surgeon  attending  some  wounded  men 
in  a  little  sheltered  hollow.  He  offered  to  examine  their 
hurts,  and  proj)Osed  to  give  them  chloroform. 

"  Xo,  thank  you,"  said  Colburne.  "  You  have  your 
hands  full,  and  we  can  walk  farther." 

"  Doctor,  I  don't  mind  taking  a  little  stimulant,"  ob- 
served Van  Zandt,  picking  up  a  small  flask  and  draining 
it  nearly  to  the  bottom.  "  Your  good  health,  sii' ;  my  best 
respects."  - 

A  quarter  of  a  mile  further  on  they  found  a  second  sur- 
g^on  similarly  occupied,  from  whom  Van  Zandt  obtained 
ano^lier  deep  draught  of  his  favorite  medicament,  reject- 


292         Miss     Ravenel's     Conveesiox 

ing  chloroform  with  profane  poUteness.  Colhume  refused 
both,  and  asked  for  water,  but  could  obtain  none.  Deep 
in  the  profound  and  solemn  woods,  a  full  mile  and  a  half 
from  the  fightmg  line,  they  came  to  the  field  hospital  of 
the  division.  It  was  simply  an  immense  collection  of 
wounded  men  in  every  imaginable  condition  of  mutilation, 
every  one  stained  more  or  less  with  his  own  blood,  every 
one  of  a  ghastly  yellowish  pallor,  all  lying  in  the  open  air 
on  the  bare  ground,  or  on  their  own  blankets,  Avith  no 
shelter  excej)t  the  friendly  foliage  of  the  oaks  and  beeches. 
In  the  centre  of  this  mass  of  suffering  stood  s^eral  oper- 
ating tables,  each  burdened  by  a  grievously  wounded  man 
and  surrounded  by  surgeons  and  their  assistants.  Under- 
neath were  greatvpools  of  clotted  blood,  amidst  which  lay 
amputated  fingers,  hands,  arms,  feet  and  legs,  only  a  little 
more  ghastly  in  color  than  the  faces  of  those  who  waited 
their  turn  on  the  table.  The  surgeons,  who  never  ceased 
their  awful  labor,  were  daubed  with  blood  to  the  elbows  ; 
and  a  smell  of  blood  drenched  the  stifling  air,  ovei-power- 
ing  even  the  pungent  odor  of  chloroform.  Tlie  place  re- 
sounded with  groans,  notwithstanding  that  most  of  the  in- 
jured men  who  retained  their  senses  exhibited  the  heroic 
endurance  so  common  on  tlie  battle-field.  One  man,  whose 
leg  was  amputated  close  to  his  body,  uttered  an  inarticu- 
late jabber  of  broken  screams,  and  rolled,  or  rather 
bounced  from  side  to  side  of  a  pile  of  loose  cotton,  with 
such  violence  that  two  hospital  attendants  were  fully  occu- 
pied in  holding  him.  Another,  shot  through  the  body, 
lay  speechless  and  dying,  but  quivering  from  head  to  foot 
with  a  prolonged  though  probably  imconscious  agony.  He 
contmued  to  shudder  thus  for  half  an  hour,  when  he  gave 
one  superhuman  throe,  and  then  lay  quiet  for  ever.  An 
Irishman,  a  gimner  of  a  regular  battery,  showed  aston- 
ishing vitality,  and  a  fortitude  bordering  on  callousness. 
His  right  leg  had  been  knocked  off  above  the  knee  by  a 
round  shot,  the  stump  being  so  deadened  and  seared  by 
the  shock  that  the  mere  bleeding:  was  too  slig:ht  tobemor- 


From    Secession    to    Loyalty.         293 

tal.  He  lay  on  his  left  side,  and  was  trying  to  get  his 
left  hand  into  his  tronsers-pocket.  With  great  difficulty 
and  grinning  with  pain,  he  brought  forth  a  short  clay 
pipe,  blackened  by  previous  smoking,  and  a  pinch  of 
chopped  plug  tobacco.  Having  filled  the  pipe  carefully 
and  deliberately,  he  beckoned  a  negro  to  bring  him  a  coal 
of  fire,  lighted,  and  commenced  puffing  with  an  air  of 
tranquillity  which  resembled  comfort.  Yet  he  was  prob- 
ably mortally  wounded  ;  human  nature  could  hardly  sur- 
vive such  a  hurt  in  such  a  season ;  nearly  all  the  leg  am- 
putations at  Port  Hudson  proved  fatal.  The  men  whose 
busmess  it  is  to  pick  up  the  wounded — the  musicians  and 
quartermaster's  people — were  constantly  bringing  in  fresh 
sufferers,  laying  them  on  the  ground,  putting  a  blanket-roll 
or  havresack  under  their  heads,  and  then  hurrying  away 
for  other  burdens  of  misery.  They,  as  well  as  the  sur- 
geons and  hospital  attendants,  already  looked  worn  out 
with  the  fatigue  of  their  terrible  mdustry. 

"  Come  up  and  see  them  butcher,  Captahi,"  said  the 
iron-nerved  Van  Zandt,  striding  over  prostrate  and  shrink- 
ing forms  to  the  side  of  one  of  the  tables,  and  glaring  at 
the  process  of  an  amputation  with  an  eager  smile  of  inter- 
est much  like  the  grin  of  a  bull-dog  who  watches  the  cut- 
tmg  up  of  a  piece  of  beef  Presently  he  espied  the  assist- 
ant surgeon  of  the  Tenth,  and  made  an  immediate  rush  at 
him  for  whiskey.  Bringing  'the  flask  which  he  obtamed 
to  Colburne,  he  gave  him  a  sip,  and  then  swallowed  the 
rest  himself  By  this  time  he  began  to  show  signs  of  in- 
toxication; he  laughed,  told  stories,  and  bellowed  humor- 
ous comments  on  the  horrid  scene.  Colburne  left  him, 
moved  out  of  the  circle  of  anguish,  seated  himself  on  the 
ground  with  his  back  against  a  tree,  filled  his  pipe,  and 
tried  to  while  away  the  time  in  smoking.  He  was  weak 
with  want  of  food  as  well  as  loss  of  blood,  but  he  could 
not  eat  a  bit  of  cracker  which  a  wounded  soldier  gave  him. 
Once  he  tried  to  soothe  the  agony  of  iiis  Lieutenant-Colo- 
nel, whom  he  discovered  lying  on  a  pile  of  loose  cotton. 


294         Mis&     Ravexel's     Coxveksiox 

with  a  buUet-woiiud  in  his  thigh  which  the  surgeon  whis- 
pered was  mortal,  the  missile  having  glanced  up  into  his 
body. 

"  It's  a  lie  !"  exclaimed  the  sufferer.  "  It's  all  nonsense, 
Doctor.  You  don't  know  your  business.  I  won't  die:  I 
sha'n't  die.  It's  all  nonsense  to  say  that  a  little  hole  in  the 
leg  like  that  can  kill  a  great  strong  man  like  me.  I  tell 
you  I  sha'n't  and  won't  die." 

Under  the  influence  of  the  shock  or  of  chloroform  his 
mmd  soon  began  to  wander. 

"  I  have  fought  well,"  he  muttered.  "  I  am  not  a 
coward.  I  am  not  a  Gazaway.  I  have  never  disgraced 
myself  I  call  all  my  regiment  to  witness  that  I  have 
fought  like  a  man.  Summon  the  Tenth  here,  officers  and 
men ;  summon  them  here  to  say  what  they  like.  I  will 
leave  it  to  any  officer — any  soldier — in  my  regiment." 

In  an  hour  more  he  was  a  corpse,  and  before  night  he 
was  black  with  putrefaction,  so  rapid  was  that  shocking 
change  under  the  heat  of  a  Louisiana  May. 

Amid  these  horrible  scenes  Van  Zandt  grew  momen- 
tarily more  intoxicated.  The  surgeons  could  hardly  keep 
him  quiet  long  enough  to  dress  his  wound,  so  anxious  was 
he  to  stroll  about  and  search  for  more  whiskey.  He  talked, 
laughed  and  swore  without  intermission,  every  now  and 
then  bellowing  like  a  bull  for  strong  liquors.  From  table 
to  table,  from  sufferer  to  sufferer  he  followed  the  surgeon 
of  the  Tenth,  slapping  him  on  the  back  violently  and  shout- 
ing, "  Doctor,,  give  me  some  whiskey.  I'll  give  you  a  rise. 
Doctor.  I'll  give  you  a  rise  higher  than  a  balloon.  Hand 
over  your  whiskey,  damn  you  !" 

If  he  had  not  been  so  horrible  he  would  have  been 
ludicrous.  His  Herculean  form  was  in  incessant  stumbling 
motion,  and  his  dark  face  was  beaded  with  pers2)iration. 
A  perpetual  silly  leer  played  about  his  wide  mouth,  and 
his  eyes  stood  out  so  with  eagerness  that  the  white  showed 
a  clear  circle  around' the  black  ii'is.  He  offered  his  assist- 
ance to  the  surgeons ;  boasted  of  his  education  as  a  graduate 


F E o  M    Secession    to     Loyalty.         295 

of  Columbia  College  ;  declared  that  he  was  abetter  Doctor 
than  any  other  mfernal  fool  present ;  made  himself  a  tor- 
ment to  the  helplessly  wounded.  Upon  a  Major  of  a  Louis- 
iana regiment  who  had  been  disabled  by  a  severe  contu- 
sion he  poured  contempt  and  imprecations. 

"  What  are  you  lying  whimpering  there  for  ?"  he  shouted. 
"  It's  nothing  but  a  little  bruise.  A  child,  by  Jove ! 
wouldn't  stop  playing  for  it.  You  ought  to  be  ashamed 
of  yourself.     Get  up  and  join  your  regiment." 

The  Major  simply  laughed,  being  a  hard  drmker  him- 
self, and  having  a  brotherly  patience  with  drunkards. 

"That's  the  style  of  Majors,"  pursued  Yan  Zandt.  "  We 
are  blessed,  by  Jove  !  with  a  Major.  He  is,  by  Jove  !  a 
dam  incur— dam — able  darn  coward."  (When  Yan  Zandt 
was  informed  the  next  day  of  this  feat  of  profanity  he 
seemed  quite  gratified,  and  remarked,  "  That,  by  Jove  !  is 
giving  a  word  a  full  battery, — bow-chaser,  stern-chaser 
and  long-tom  amidships.")  "  Where's  Gazaway  ?  (in  a 
roar).  Where's  the  heroic  Major  of  the  Tenth  ?  I  am  go- 
ing, by  Jove  !  to  look  him  up.  I  am  going,  by  Jove  !  to 
find  the  safest  place  in  the  whole  country.  W^here  Gazaway 
is,  there  is  peace  !" 

Colburne  refused  one  or  two  ofiers  to  dress  his  wound, 
saying  that  others  needed  more  instant  care  than  himself. 
When  at  last  he  submitted  to  an  examination,  it  was  found 
that  the  ball  had  passed  between  the  bones  of  the  fore-arm, 
not  breaking  them  indeed,  but  scaling  ofi*  some  exterior 
splmters  and  making  an  ugly  rent  in  the  muscles. 

"  I  don't  thmk  you'll  lose  your  arm,"  said  the  Surgeon. 
"  But  you'll  have  a  nasty  sore  for  a  month  or  two.  I'll 
dress  it  now  that  I'm  about  it.  You'd  better  take  the 
chloroform  ;  it  Tvdll  make  it  easier  for  both  of  us." 

Under  the  combined  influence  of  weakness,  whiskey  and 
chloroform,  Colburne  fell  asleep  after  the  operation.  About 
sundown  he  awoke,  his  throat  so  parched  that  he  could 
hardly  speak,  his  skin  fiery  with  fever,  and  his  whole  body 
sore.      Xevertheless   he  jomed  a  procession   of  slightly 


296         Miss    Raven  el's    Conveksion 

wounded  men,  and  marched  a  mile  to  a  general  hospital 
wliich  had  been  set  up  in  and  around  a  planter's  house  in 
rear  of  the  forest.  The  proprietor  and  his  son  were  in  the 
garrison  of  Port  Hudson.  But  the  wife  and  two  grown- 
up daughters  were  there,  full  of  scorn  and  hatred  ;  so  un- 
womanly, so  unimaginably  savage  in  conversation  and 
soul  that  no  novelist  would  dare  to  invent  such  characters ; 
nothing  but  real  life  could  justify  hmi  in  paintmg  them. 
They  seemed  to  be  actually  intoxicated  with  the  malignant 
strength  of  a  malice,  passionate  enough  to  dethrone  the 
reason  of  any  being  not  aboriginally  brutal.  They  laughed 
like  demons  to  see  the  wounds  and  hear  the  groans  of  the 
sufferers.  They  jeered  them  because  the  assault  had  failed. 
The  Yankees  never  could  take  Port  Hudson ;  they  were 
the  meanest,  the  most  dastardly  people  on  earth.  Joe 
Johnson  would  soon  kill  the  rest  of  them,  and  have  Banks 
a  prisoner,  and  shut  him  up  in  a  cage. 

•'  I  hoj^e  to  see  you  all  dead,"  laughed  one  of  these  fe- 
male hyenas.  "  I  will  dance  with  joy  on  your  graves.  My 
brother  makes  beautiful  rings  out  of  Yankee  bones." 

No  harm  was  done  to  them,  nor  any  stress  of  silence 
laid  upon  them.  When  theii'  own  food  gave  out  they 
Avere  fed  from  the  public  stores  ;  and  at  the  end  of  the  sieo-e 
they  w.ere  left  unmolested,  to  gloat  in  their  jackal  fashion 
over  patriot  graves. 

There  was  a  lack  of  hospital  accommodation  near  Port 
Hudson,  so  bare  is  the  land  of  dwellings ;  there  was  a  lack 
of  surgeons,  nurses,  stores,  and  especially  of  ice,  that  abso- 
lute necessity  of  surgery  in  our  southern  climate ;  and 
therefore  the  wounded  were  sent  as  rapidly  as  possible  to 
Xew  Orleans.  Ambulances  were  few  at  tliat  time  in  the 
Department  of  the  Gulf,  and  Colburne  found  the  heavy, 
springless  army- wagon  which  conveyed  him  to  Springfield 
Landing  a  chariot  of  torture.  His  arm  was  swollen  to 
twice  its  natural  size  from  the  knuckles  to  the  elbow. 
Xature  had  set  to  work  with  her  tormenting  remedies  of 
inflammation  and  suppuration  to  extract  the  shai-p  slivers 


From     Secession     to     Loyalty.        297 

of  bone  whicli  still  hid  in  the  wound  notwithstanding  the 
searchino-  finger  and  prohe   of  the  Surgeon.     During  the 
nio-ht  previous  to  this  journey  neither  whiskey  nor  opmm 
could  enable  hhn  to  sleep,  and  he  could  only  escape  from 
his  painM  self-consciousness  by  drenching  himself  with 
chloroform.     But  this  mornmg  he  almost  forget  his  own 
sensations  m  pity  and  awe  of  the  multitudinous  agony 
which  bore  him  companv.     So  nearly  supernatural  m  its 
horror  was  the  burden  of  anguish  which  filled  that  long 
train  of  jolting  wagons  that  it  seemed  at  times  to  his 
fevered  imagmation  as  if  he  were  out  of  the  world,  and 
journeymg  m  the  realms  of  eternal  torment.  The  sluggish 
current  of'suftermg  groaned  and  wailed  its  way  on  board 
the  steam  transport,  spreadmg  out  there  mto  a  great  sur- 
face of  torture  which  could  be  taken  in  by  a  single  sweep 
of  the  eye.     Wounded  men  and  dying  men  filled  the  state- 
rooms and  covered  the  cabm  floor  and  even  the  open  deck 
There  was  a  perpetual  murmur  of  moans,  athwart  which 
passed  frequent  shrieks  from  sufierers  racked  to  madness, 
like  lio-htnmgs  dartmg  across  a  gloomy  sky.     More  than 
one  poor  fellow  drew  his  last  breath  m  the  wagons  and  on 
board  the  transport.     All  these  men,  thought  Colburne, 
are  dying  and  agonizmg  for  their  country  and  for  human 
freedom."^  He  p^-ayed,  and,  without   argumg   the  matter, 
he  wearily  yet  calmly  trusted,  that  God  would  grant  them 
His  mfinite  mercy  m^his  world  and  the  other. 

It  was  a  tiresome  voyage  from  Sprmgfield  Landmg  to 
Xew  Orleans.  Colburne  had  no  place  to  lie  down,  and  if 
he  had  had  one  he  could  not  have  slept.  Durmg  most  of  the 
trip  he  sat  on  a  pile  of  baggage,  holding  in  his  right  hand  a 
tm  quart  cup  filled  with  ice  and  punctured  with  a  small 
hole,  through  which  the  chilled  water  dripped  upon  his 
wounded  arm.  Great  was  the  excitement  m  the  city  when 
the  o-hastly  travellers  landed.  It  was  already  known  there 
that^an  assault  had  been  delivered,  and  that  Port  Hudson 
had  not  been  taken ;  but  no  particulars  had  been  pubhshed 
which  mio-ht  indicate  that  the  Union  army  had  sufiered  a 
N2 


298  Miss     R  a  vex  el's     Conveksion 

severe  repulse.  Now,  Avhen  several  steamboats  discharged 
a  (jio^antic  freight  of  mutilated  men,  the  facts  of  defeat  and 
slaughter  were  sanguinarily  apparent.  Secessionists  of 
both  sexes  and  all  ages  swarmed  in  the  streets,  and  filled 
them  with  a  buzz  of  inhuman  delight.  Creatures  in  the 
guise  of  wqmanhood  laughed  and  told  their  little  children 
to  laugh  at  the  pallid  faces  which  showed  from  the  am- 
bulances as  they  went  and  returned  in  frequent  journeys 
between  the  levee  and  the  hospitals.  The  officers  and 
men  of  the  garrison  were  sad,  stern  and  threatening  in  as- 
l^ect.  The  few  citizens  who  had  declared  for  the  Union 
cowered  by  themselves  and  exchanged  whispers  of  gloomy 
foreboding. 

In  St.  Stephen's  Hospital  Colburne  found  something  of 
that  comfort  which  a  wounded  man  needs.  His  arm  was 
dressed  for  the  second  time ;  his  ragged  uniform,  stiff  with 
blood  and  dirt,  was  removed ;  he  was  sponged  from  head 
to  foot  and  laid  in  the  first  sheets  which  he  had  seen  for 
months.  There  were  three  other  wounded  ofiicers  in  the 
room,  each  on  his  own  cot,  each  stripped  stark  naked  and 
covered  only  by  a  sheet.  A  Major  of  a  Connecticut  regi- 
ment, who  had  received  a  grapeshot  through  the  lungs, 
smiled  at  Colburne's  arm  and  whisjDered,  "  Flea-bit^." 
Then  he  pointed  to  the  horrible  orifice  in  his  own  breast, 
through  which  tlie  blood  and  bi-eath  could  be  seen  to  bub- 
ble whenever  the  dressings  were  removed,  and  nodded 
with  another  feeble  but  heroic  smile  which  seemed  to  say, 
"  This  is  no  flea-bite."  Iced  water  appeared  to  be  the  only 
exterior  medicament  in  use,  and  the  hospital  nurses  wer6 
constantly  drenching  the  dressings  with  this  simple 
panacea  of  wise  old  Mother  Nature.  But  in  this  early 
stage  of  the  great  agony,  before  the  citizens  had  found  it 
in  their  hearts  to  act  the  part  of  the  Good  Samaritan,  there 
was  a  lack  of  attendance,  Happy  were  those  officers  who 
had  their  servants  with  them,  like  the  Connecticut  Major, 
or  who,  like  Colburne,  had  strength  and  members  left  to 
take  care  of  their  own  hurts.     He  soon  hit  upon  a  deyice 


Feom     Secession    to     Loyalty.         299 

to  lessen  liis  self-healing  labors.  He  got  a  nurse  to  drive 
a  hook  into  the  ceiling  and  susjDend  his  quart  cup  of  ice 
to  it  by  a  triangle  of  strings,  so  that  it  might  hang  about 
six  inches  above  his  wounded  arm,  and  shed  its  dew  of 
consolation  and  health  without  trouble  to  himself.  In  his 
fever  he  Avas  childishly  anxious  about  his  quart  cup ;  he 
was  afraid  that  the  surgeon,  the  nurse,  the  visitors,  would 
hit  it  and  make  it  swing.  That  arm  was  a  little  world  of 
pain ;  it  radiated  pam  as  the  sun  radiates  light. 

For  the  first  time  in  his  life  he  drank  freely  of  strong 
liquors.  Whiskey  was  the  internal  panacea  of  the  hospital, 
as  iced  water  was  the  outward  one.  Every  time  that  the 
Surgeon  visited  the  four  ofiicers  he  sent  a  nurse  for  four 
milk  punches  ;  and  if  they  wanted  other  stimulants,  such 
as  claret  or  porter,  they  could  have  them  for  the  asking. 
The  generosity  of  the  Government,  and  the  sublime  benefi- 
cence of  the  Sanitary  Commission  suj)plied  every  necessary 
and  many  luxuries,  Colburne  was  on  his  feet  in  forty- 
eight  hours  after  his  arrival,  ashamed  to  lie  in  bed  under 
the  eyes  of  that  mangled  and  heroic  Major.  He  was  pro- 
moted to  the  milk-toast  table,  and  then  to  the  apple-sauce 
table.  Holding  his  tin  cup  over  his  arm,  he  made  frequent 
rounds  of  the  hospital,  cheering  up  the  wounded,  and  find- 
ing not  a  little  pleasure  in  watching  the  progress  of  in- 
dividual cases.  He  never  acquired  a  taste,  as  many  did, 
for  frequenting  the  operating-room,  and  (as  Yan  Zandt 
phrased  it)  seeing  them  butcher.  This  chevalier  sans 
peur,  who  on  the  battle-field  could  face  death  and  look  upon 
ranks  of  slain  unblenchingly,  was  at  heart  as  soft  as  a 
woman,  and  never  saw  a  surgeon's  knife  touch  living  flesh 
without  a  sensation  of  faintness. 

He  often  accompanied  the  Chief  Surgeon  m  his  tours  of 
inspection.  A  wonder  of  2:>ractical  philanthropy  was  this 
queer,  cheerful,  indefatigable  Doctor  Jackson,  as  brisk  and 
inspiriting  as  a  mountain  breeze,  tireless  in  body,  fervent 
in  spirit,  a  benediction  with  the  rank  of  Major.  Iced  water, 
whiskey,  nourishment  and  encouragement  were  his  cure- 


300        Miss    Raven  el's     Conversion 

alls.  There  Avere  surgeons  who  themselves  drank  the 
claret  and  brandy  of  the  Sanitary  Commission,  and  gave 
the  remnant  to  their  friends ;  who  poured  the  consolidated 
milk  of  the  Sanitary  Commission  on  the  canned  peaches  of 
the  Sanitary  Commission  and  put  the  grateful  mess  into 
theii*  personal  stomachs  ;  and  who,  having  thus  comforted 
themselves,  went  out  with  a  pleasant  smile  to  see  their 
patients  eat  bread  without  peaches  and  drmk  coffee  with- 
out milk.  But  Dr.  Jackson  was  not  one  of  these  self- 
centred  individuals ;  he  had  fibres  of  sympathy  which 
reached  into  the  lives  of  others,  especially  of  the  wretched. 
As  he  passed  through  the  crowded  wards  all  those  sick 
eyes  turned  to  him  as  to  a  sun  of  strength  and  hope.  He 
never  left  a  wounded  man,  however  near  to  death,  but  the 
poor  fellow  brightened  up  with  a  confidence  of  speedy  re- 
covery. 

"  Must  cheer  'em — must  cheer  'em,"  he  miittered  to  Col- 
burne.  "  Courage  is  a  great  medicine — best  in  the  world. 
Works  miracles — yes,  miracles." 

"  Why  !  how  are  you,  my  old  boy  ?"  he  said  aloud,  stop- 
ping before  a  patient  with  a  ball  in  the  breast.  "  You  look 
as  hearty  as  a  buck  this  morniug.  Gettmg  on  wonder- 
fully." 

He  gave  him  an  easy  slap  on  the  shoulder,  as  if  he  con- 
sidered him  a  well  man  already.  He  knew  just  where  to 
administer  these  slaps,  and  just  how  to  graduate  them  to 
the  invalid's  weakness.  After  counting  the  man's  pulse 
he  smiled  in  his  face  with  an  air  of  astonishment  and  ad- 
mii'ation,  and  proceeded,  "  Beautiful !  Couldn't  do  it  bet- 
ter if  you  had  never  got  hit.  Xurse,  bring  this  man  a 
milk-punch.     That's  all  the  medicine  he  wants." 

When  they  had  got  a  few  yards  from  the  bed  he  sighed, 
jerked  his  thumb  backward  significantly,  and  whispered 
to  Colburne,  "  No  use.  Can't  save  him.  Xo  vitality.  Bone- 
yard  to-morrow." 

They  stopped  to  examine  another  man  who  had  been 
shot  through  the  head  from  temple  to  temple,  but  without 


From     Secessiox    to    Loyalty.  301 

unseating  life  from  its  throne.  His  head,  especially  about 
the  face,  was  swollen  to  an  amazing  magnitude ;  his  eyes 
were  as  red  as  blood,  and  projected  from  their  sockets,  two 
awful  lumps  of  inflanmiation.  He  was  blind  and  deaf,  but 
able  to  drink  milk-punches,  and  still  full  of  vital  force. 

"  Fetch  him  round,  I  giiess^^  whispered  the  Doctor  with 
a  smile  of  gratification.     "Holds  out  beautiful." 

"  But  he  will  always  be  blind,  and  probably  idiotic." 
"  1^0.  Xot  idiotic.  Brain  as  sound  as  a  nut.  As  for 
blmdness,  can't  say.  Shouldn't  wonder  if  he  could  use  his 
peepers  yet.  Great  doctor,  old  Xature — if  you  won't  get 
in  her  way.  Works  miracles — miracles  !  Why,  m  the 
Peninsular  campaign  I  sent  ofi"  one  man  well,  with  a  rifle- 
ball  m  his  heart.  Must  have  been  in  his  heart.  There's 
your  room-mate,  the  Major.  Put  a  walking  cane  through 
him,  and  h£  won't  die.  Could,  but  won't.  Too  good  pluck 
to  let  o-o.    Peof'lar  bull  terrier." 

"  How  is  my  boy  Jerry  ?  The  little  Iiish  fellow  with  a 
shot  m  the  groin." 

"  Ah,  I  remember.  Empty  bed  to-morrow." 
"  You  don't  mean  that  there's  no  hope  for  him  ?" 
"  Ko,  no.  All  right.  I  mean  he'll  get  his  legs  and  be 
about.  No  fear  for  that  sort.  Pluck  enough  to  pull  half 
a  dozen  men  through.  Those  devil-may-care  boys  make 
capital  soldiers,  they  get  well  so  quick.  This  fellow  will 
be  stealing  chickens  in  three  weeks.  I  wouldn't  bet  that  I 
could  kill  him." 

Thus  in  the  very  tolerable  comfort  of  St.  Stephen's  Col- 
burne  escaped  the  six  weeks  of  trying  siege  duty  which 
his  regiment  had  to  perform  before  Port  Hudson.  The 
Tenth  occupied  a  little  hollow  about  one  hundred  and 
fifty  yards  from  the  rebel  fortifications,  protected  in  front 
by  a  high  knoll,  but  exposed  on  the  left  to  a  fire  which  hit 
one  or  more  every  day.  The  men  cut  a  terrace  on  their 
own  side  of  the  knoll,  and  then  topped  the  crest  with  a 
double  Ime  of  logs  pierced  for  musketry,  thus  forming  a 
solid  and  convenient  breastwork.     On  both  sides  the  sharp- 


302         Miss     Ray  ex  el's     Conveksion 

shooting  began  at  daybreak  and  lasted  till  nightfall.  On 
both  sides  the  marksmanship  grew  to  be  fatally  accnrate. 
Men  were  shot  dead  through  the  loopholes  as  they  took 
aim.  If  the  crown  of  a  hat  or  cap  showed  above  the  breast- 
work, it  was  pierced  by  a  bullet.  After  the  siege  was 
over,  a  rebel  officer,  who  had  been  stationed  on  this  front, 
stated  that  most  of  his  killed  and  wounded  men  had  been 
hit  just  above  the  Ime  of  the  forehead.  Every  mornmg  at 
dawn,  Carter,  who  had  his  quarters  in  the  midst  of  the 
Tenth,  was  awakened  by  a  spattering  of  musketry  and  the 
sino:ino:  of  Minie-balls  throusjh  the  branches  above  his  head, 
and  even  through  the  dry  foliage  of  his  own  sylvan  shanty. 
Xow  and  then  a  shriek  or  oath  indicated  that  a  bullet  had 
done  its  brutal  work  on  some  human  frame.  Xo  crowd 
collected  ;  the  men  Avere  hardened  to  such  tragedies  ;  four 
or  five  bore  the  victim  away  ;  the  rest  asked, "  Who  is  it  ?" 
One  death  which  Carter  witnessed  was  of  so  remarkable  a 
character  that  he  wrote  an  account  of  it  to  his  wife,  al- 
though not  given  to  noting  with  much  interest  the  minor 
and  personal  incidents  of  war. 

"  I  had  just  finished  breakfast,  and  was  lying  on  my  back 
smokmg.  A  bullet  whistled  so  unusually  low  as  to  attract 
my  attention  and  struck  with  a  loud  smash  in  a  tree  about 
twenty  feet  from  me.  Between  me  and  the  tree  a  soldier, 
with  his  great  coat  rolled  under  his  head  for  a  pillow,  lay 
on  his  back  reading  a  newspaper  which  he  held  in  both 
hands.  I  remember  smiling  to  myself  to  see  this  man  start 
as  the  bullet  passed.  Some  of  his  comrades  left  ofl"  playmg 
pards  and  looked  for  it.  The  man  who  was  readmg  re- 
mained perfectly  still,  his  eyes  fixed  on  the  paper  with  a 
steadiness  which  I  thought  curious,  considering  the  bustle 
around  him.  Presently  I  noticed  that  there  were  a  few. 
drops  of  blood  on  his  neck,  and  that  his  face  was  paling. 
Calling  to  the  card-players,  who  had  resumed  their  game, 
I  said,  '  See  to  that  man  with  the  paper.'  They  went  to 
him,  spoke  to  him,  touched  him,  and  found  him  perfectly 
dead.     The  ball  had  struck  hmi  under  the  chin,  traversed 


From    Secession    to    Lotalty.         303 

the  neck,  and  cut  tlie  spinal  column  where  it  joins  the 
brain,  making  a  fearful  hole  through  which  the  blood  had 
already  soaked  his  great-coat.  It  was  this  man's  head,  and 
not  the  tree,  which  had  been  struck  with  such  a  report. 
There  he  lay,  still  holding  the  New  York  Independent, 
with  his  eyes  fixed  on  a  sermon  by  Henry  Ward  Beecher. 
It  was  really  quite  a  remarkable  circumstance. 

"  By  the  way,  you  must  not  suppose,  my  dear  little  girl, 
that  bullets  often  come  so  near  me.  I  am  as  careful  of  my- 
self as  you  exhort  me  to  be." 

Xot  quite  true,  this  soothing  story  ;  and  the  Colonel 
knew  it  to  be  false  as  he  wrote  it.  He  knew  that  he  was 
in  danger  of  death  at  any  moment,  but  he  had  not  the 
heart  to  tell  his  wife  so,  and  make  her  unhappy. 


CHAPTER  XXII. 

CAPTAIN    COLBUEXE    REIXEOECES  THE  KAVENELS  IN  TIME  TO 
AID    THEM    IN    EUNNING   AW  AT. 

CoLBUENE  had  been  two  or  three  weeks  in  the  hospital 
when  he  was  startled  by  seemg  Doctor  Ravenel  advancing 
eagerly  upon  him  with  a  face  full  of  trouble.  The  Doctor 
had  heard  of  the  young  man's  hurt,  and  as  his  sensitive 
sympathy  invariably  exaggerated  danger  and  suffering, 
especially  if  they  concerned  any  one  whom  he  loved,  he 
had  imagined  the  worst,  and  taken  the  first  boat  for  JSTew 
Orleans.  On  the  other  hand,  Colburne  surmised  from  that 
concerned  countenance  that  the  Doctor  brought  evil 
tidings  of  his  daughter.  Was  she  unhappy  in  her  mar- 
riage^ or  widowed^  or  dead  ?  He  laughed  outright,  with  a 
sense  of  relief  equivalent  to  positive  pleasure,  when  he 
learned  that  he  alone  was  the  cause  of  Ravenel's  worry. 

"  I  am  getting  along  famously,"  said  he.  "  Ask  Doctor 
Jackson  here.      I  am  not  sick  at  all  above  my  left  elbow. 


304         Miss     Raven  el's     Conversion 

Below  the  elbow  the  arm  seems  to  belong  to  some  other 
man." 

The  Doctor  shook  his  head  with  the  resolute  incredulity 
of  a  man  who  is  too  anxious  not  to  expect  the  worst. 

"  But  you  can't  continue  to  do  well  here.  This  air  is 
infected.  This  great  mass  of  inflammation,  suppuration, 
mortification  and  death,  has  poisoned  the  atmosphere  of 
the  hospital.  I  scented  it  the  moment  I  entered  the  door.' 
Am  I  not  right,  Dr.  Jackson  ?" 

"  Just  so.  Can't  help  it.  Horrid  weather  for  cases,"  re- 
2)lied  the  chief  surgeon,*  wii^mg  the  perspiration  from  his 
forehead.  Air  is  poisoned.  Wish  to  God  I  could  get  a 
fresh  building.  JNXy  patients  would  do  better  in  shanties 
than  they  will  here." 

"  I  knew  it,"  said  Ravenel.  "  Xow  thej^i,  I  am  a  coun- 
try doctor.  I  can  take  this  young  man  to'sa  plantation, 
and  give  him  pure  air." 

"That's  what  you  want,"  observed  Jackson,  turnmg 
to  Colburne.  "  Your  arm  don't  need  ice  now.  Water 
will  do.  Better  go,  I  think.  I'll  see  that  you  have  a 
month's  leave  of  absence.  Come,  you  can  go  to  Taylors- 
ville,  and  still  not  miss  a  chance  for  fighting.  Tried  to  send 
him  north,"  he  added,  addressing  Ravenel.  "  But  he's 
foolish  about  it.  Wants  to  see  Port  Hudson  out — what 
you  call  a  knight-errant." 

Colburne  was  in  a  tremble,  body  and  soul,  at  the 
thought  of  meeting  Mrs.  Carter  ;  he  had  never  been  so 
profoundly  shaken  by  even  the  actuality  of  encountering 
Miss  Ravenel.  Most  of  us  have  been  in  love  enough  to 
understand  all  about  it  without  explanation,  and  to  feel 
no  wonder  at  him  because,  after  reeling  mentally  this 
way  and  that,  he  finally  said,  "  I  will  go."  Xoav  and 
then  there  is  a  woman  who  cannot  bear  to  look  upon 
the  man  whom  she  has  loved  and  lost,  and  who  will  turn 
quick  corners  and  Tun  down  side  streets  to  escape  him, 
haunting  him  spiritually  perhaps,  but  bodily  keeping 
afar  from  him  all  her  life.     But  stronger  natures,  who  can 


FROii    SECESSioiyr    TO    Loyalty.  305 

endure  the  trial,  frequently  go  to  meet  it,  and  seem  to  find 
some  dolorous  comfort  in  it.  As  regards  Colburne,  it  may 
be  that  he  would  not  have  gone  to  Taylorsville  had  he  not 
been  weak  and  feverish,  and  felt  a  craving  for  that  pet- 
ting kindness  wliich  seems  to  be  a  necessity  of  invalids. 

f  doubt  whether  the  life  in  Pvavenel's  house  contrib- 
uted much  to  advance  bis  convalescence.  His  emotions 
were  played  upon  too  constantly  and  powerfully  for  the 
highest  good  of  the  temporarily  shattered  mstrument. 
He  had  supposed  that  he  would  undergo  one  great  shock 
on  meetmg  Mrs.  Carter,  and  that  "then  his  trouble  would 
be  over.  The  first  thrill  was  not  so  potent  as  he  expected ; 
but  it  was  succeeded  by  a  constant  unrest,  like  the 
burning  of  a  slow  fever  ;  he  was  uneasy  all  day  and  slept 
badly  "at  night.  In  the  house  he  could  not  talk  freely 
and  gaily,  because  of  Lillie's  presence ;  and  out  of  it  he 
could  not  feel  with  calmness,  because  he  was  perpetually 
thmking  of  her.  After  all,  it  may  have  been  the  splint- 
ers of  bone  in  the  arm,  quite  as  much  as  the  arrow  in  th^ 
heart,  which  worried  him.  Of  Mrs.  Carter  I  must  ad- 
mit that  she  was  not  mercifiil;  she  made  the  doubly- 
wounded  Captam  talk  %  great  deal  of  his  Colonel.  He 
might  recite  Carter's  martial  deeds  and  qualities  as  length- 
ily as  he  pleased,  and  recommence  da  capo  to  recite  them 
over  again,  not  only  without  fatigumg  her,  but  without 
exciting  in  her  mind  a  thought  that  he  was  douig  any 
thing  remarkable.  She  was  very  much  pleased,  but  she 
was  not  a  bit  grateful.  Why  should  she  be  !  It  wa^ 
perfectly  natural  to  her  mind  that  people  should  admire 
the  Colonel,  and  talk  much  of  his  glory.  Colburne  per- 
formed this  ill-paid  task  with  infinite  patience,  sympathy, 
and  self-sacrificing  love ;  and  no  warrior  was  ever  better 
sung  in  conversational  epics  than  was  Carter  the  successful 
by  Colburne  the  disappointed.  Under  the  rude  oppression  of 
this  subject  the  bruised  shrub  a  exhaled  daily  sweetness. 
It  is  almost  painful  to  contemplate  these  two  loving  hearts : 
the  one  sending  its  anxious  sympathies  a  Imndred  miles 


306         Miss    Ravenel's    Co x ye k sign 

away  nito  the  deadly  trenches  of  Port  Hudson ;  the  other 
pouring  out  its  sympathies  for  a  present  object,  but  cov- 
ertly and  without  a  thought  of  reward.  If  the  passionate 
affection  of  the  woman  is  charmmg,  the  unrequited,  un- 
hoping  love  of  the  man  is  sublime. 

The  Doctor  perhaps  saw  what  Lillie  could  not  or  would 
not  see. 

"  My  dear,"  he  observed,  "  you  must  remember  that 
Colonel  Carter  is  not  the  husband  of  Captain  Colburne." 

"  Oh  papa  !"  she  answered.  "  Do  you  suppose  that  he 
doesn't  like  to  talk  about  Colonel  Carter  ?  Of  course  he 
does.     He  admires  him,  and  likes  him  immensely." 

"  I  dare  say — I  dare  say.  But  nevertheless  you  give 
him  very  large  doses  of  your  husband." 

"  Xo,  papa ;  not  too  large.  He  is  such  a  good  friend 
that  I  am  sure  he  doesn't  object.  Just  think  how  unkind 
it  would  be  not  to  want  to  talk  about  my  husband.  You 
don't  understand  him  if  you  think  he  is  so  shabby." 

Xevertheless  the  Doctor  was  partially  right,  and  shabby 
as  it  may  have  been,  Colburne  was  no  better  for  the  con- 
versation which  so  much  gratified  Mrs.  Carter.  His  arm 
discharged  its  slivers  of  bone  and^ealed  steadily,  but  he 
Avas  thin  and  pale,  slept  badly,  and  had  a  slow  fever.  It 
must  not  be  supposed  that  he  wilfully  brooded  over  his 
disappointment ;  much  less  that  he  was  angry  about  it  or 
felt  any  desire  to  avenge  it.  He  was  too  sensible  not  to 
struggle  agamst  useless  pinmgs ;  too  gentle-hearted- and 
honorable  to  be  even  tempted  of  base  or  cruel  spiiits.  Xot 
that  he  was  a  moral  miracle  ;  not  that  he  was  even  a  mar- 
vellously bright  exception  to  the  general  run  of  humanity ; 
on  the  contrary  he  was  like  many  of  us,  especially  when 
we  are  under  the  influence  of  elevating  emotion.  Some  by 
me  forgotten  author  has  remarked  that  no  earthly  being  is 
purer,  more  like  the  souls  in  paradise,  than  a  young  man 
during  his  first  earnest  love. 

At  one  time  Colburne  entirely  forgot  himself  in  his 
sympathy  for  Mrs.  Carter.     When  the  news  came  of  the 


From    Secession    to    Loyalty.         307 

unsuccessful  and  murderous  assault  of  the  fourteenth  of 
June,  she  was  nearly  crazy  for  three  days  because  of  her 
uncertainty  concerning  the  fate  of  her  husband.  She  must 
hear  constantly  from  her  comforters  the  assurance  that  all 
was  undoubtedly  well ;  that,  if  the  Colonel  had  been  en- 
gaged in  the  fighting,  he  would  certainly  have  been  named 
in  the  ofiicial  report ;  that,  if  he  had  received  any  harm,  he 
would  have  been  all  the  more  sure  of  being  mentioned, 
etc.,  etc.  Clingmg  as  if  for  life  to  these  two  men,  she  de- 
manded all  their  strength  to  keep  her  out  of  the  depths  of 
despair.  Every  day  they  went  two  or  three  times  to  the 
fort,  one  or  other  of  them,  to  gather  information  from  pass- 
ing boats  concernmg  the  new  tragedy.  Very  honestly 
and  earnestly  gratified  was  Colburne  when  he  was  able  to 
bring  to  Mrs.  Carter  a  letter  from  her  husband,  written 
the  day  after  the  struggle,  and  saying  that  no  harm  had 
befallen  him.  How  that  letter  was  wept  over,  prayed 
over,  held  to  a  beatmg  heart,  and  then  to  loving  lips !  The 
house  was  solemn  all  day  with  that  immense  and  unspeak- 
able joy. 

Circumstances  soon  occurred  which  caused  this  lonely 
and  anxious  family  to  be  troubled  about  its  own  safety. 
To  carry  on  the  siege  of  Port  Hudson,  Banks  had  been 
obliged  to  reduce  the  garrison  of  :N"ew  Orleans  and  of  its 
vast  exterior  Ime  of  defences  (a  hundred  miles  from  the 
city  on  every  side)  to  the  lowest  point  consistent  with 
safety.  Meantime  Taylor  reorganized  the  remnant  of  his 
beaten  army,  raised  new  levies  by  conscription,  procured 
reinforcements  from  Texas,  and  resumed  the  ofl^ensive. 
Brashear  City  on  the  Atchafalaya,  with  its  immense  mass 
of  commissary  stores,  and  garrison  of  raw  Nine  Months' 
men,  was  captured  by  surprise.  A  smart  little  battle  was 
fought  at  Lafourche  Crossing,  near  Thibodeaux,  in  which 
Greene's  Texans  charged  with  their  usual  brilliant  impetu- 
osity, but  were  repulsed  by  our  men  with  fearful  slauo;hter 
after  a  hand-to-hand  struggle  over  the  contested  cannon. 
Kevertheless  the  Union  troops  so  en  retired  before  superior 


308        Miss    Ravexel's    Co  x  version 

numbers,  and  Greene's  wild  mounted  rangers  were  at 
liberty  to  patrol  the  Lafourche  Interior. 

"  We  can't  stay  here  long,"  said  Colbunie,  in  the  council 
of  war  in  which  the  family  talked  these  matters  over. 
"  Greene  will  come  this  way  sooner  or  later.  If  he  can 
take  Fort  Winthrop,  he  Avill  thereby  blockade  the  Missis- 
sippi, cut  ofl"  Banks'  supplies,  and  force  him  to  raise  the 
siege  of  Port  Hudson.  He  is  sure  to  try  it  sooner  or  later." 

"  Must  we  leave  our  plantation,  then  ?"  asked  Ravenel 
in  real  anguish.  To  lose  his  home,  his  invested  capital, 
pigs,  chickens,  prospective  croj)  of  vegetables,  and,  worse 
yet,  of  enlightened  and  ennobled  negroes,  was  indeed  a 
torturing  calamity.  Had  he  known  on  the  afternoon  of 
that  day,  that  before  morning  the  shaggy  ponies  and  long, 
lank,  dirty  mosstroopers  of  Greene's  brigade  would  be  upon 
him,  he  would  not  have  paused  to  examine  the  situation 
from  so  many  diiferent  j)oints  of  view.  Colburne  knew  by 
experience  the  celerity  of  Texan  rangers ;  he  had  chased 
them. in  forced  marches  from  Brashear  City  to  Alexandria 
without  ever  seeing  a  tail  of  their  horses ;  and  yet  even  he 
indulged  in  a  false  security. 

"  I  think  we  have  twelve  hours  before  us,"  he  observed. 
"  To-morrow  morning  we  shall  have  to  get  up  and  get,  as 
the  natives  say.  Still  it's  my  opinion — I  don't  believe 
Mrs.  Carter  had  better  stay  here  ;  she  ought  to  go  to  the 
fort  to-night." 

"  Are  gou  going,  papa  ?"  asked  Mrs.  Carter,  who  some- 
how was  not  much  alarmed. 

"  My  dear,  I  must  stay  here  till  the  last  moment.  We 
have  so  much  property  here  !  You  will  have  to  go  T\'ith- 
out  me." 

"  Then  I  won't  go,"  she  answered ;  and  so  that  was 
settled. 

"  You  ought  to  be  ofi*,"  said  the  Doctor  to  Colburne. 
"  As  a  United  States  officer  you  are  sure  to  be  kept  a 
prisoner,  if  taken.     I  certainly  think  that  you  ought  to  go." 

ColbmTie  thought  so  too,  but  would  not  desert  his  friends  ; 


Feom     Secession    to     Loyal-ty.  309 

he  shrugged  his  shoulders  m  spirit  and  resolved  to  endure 
^vhat  might  come.  The  negroes  were  in  a  state  of  ex- 
quisite alarm.  The  entire  black  population  of  the  Lafourche 
Interior  was  making  for  the  swamps  or  other  places  of 
shelter ;  and  only  the  love  of  the  Ravenel  gang  for  their 
good  massa  and  beautiful  missus  kept  them  from  being 
swej)t.  away  by  the  contagious  current.  The  horror  with 
which  they  regarded  the  possibility  of  being  returned  into 
slavery  delighted  the  Doctor,  who,  even  in  those  cu*cum- 
stances,  dilated  enthusiastically  upon  it  as  a  proof  that  the 
race  was  capable  of  high  aspirations. 

"  They  have  already  acquired  the  love  of  individual 
liberty,"  said  this  amiable  optimist.  "  The  cognate  love 
of  liberty  in  the  abstract,  the  liberty  of  all  men,  is  not  far 
ahead  of  them.  How  superior  they  already  are  to  the 
white  wretches  who  are  fighting  to  send  them  back  to 
slavery ! — Shedding  blood,  their  own  and  their  brothers', 
for  slavery !  Is  it  not  utterly  amazing  ?  Risking  life 
and  taking  life  to  restore  slavery !  It  is  the  foolishest, 
wickedest,  most  demoniacal  infatuation  that  ever  possessed 
humanity.  The  Inquisition,  the  Massacre  of  St.  Bartholo- 
mew, were  common  sense  and  evangelical  mercy  com- 
pared to  this  pro-slavery  rebellion.  And  yet  these  imps 
of  atrocity  pretend  to  be  Christians.  They  are  the  most 
orthodox  creatures  that  ever  served  the  devil.  They  rant 
and  roar  in  the  Methodist  camp-meetmgs  ;  they  dogmatize 
on  the  doctrines  in  the  Presbyterian  church ;  they  make 
the  responses  in  the  Episcopal  liturgy.  There  is  only  one 
pinnacle  of  hypocrisy  that  they  never  have  had  the  auda- 
city to  mount.  They  have  not  yet  brought  themselves  to 
make  the  continuance  and  spread  of  slavery  an  object  of 
prayer.  It  would  be  logical,  you  know ;  it  would  be  just 
like  their  impudence.  I  have  expected  that  they  would 
come  to  it.  I  have  looked  forward  to  the  time  when  their 
hypocritical  priesthood  would  put  up  bloody  hands  in  the 
fa.ce  of  an  uidignant  Heaven,  and  say,  *  O  God  of  Justice  ! 
O  Jesus,  lover  of  the  oppressed !  bless,  extend  and  perpet- 


310         Mi*ss    Ray  EX  el's    Conversion 

uate  slavery ;  prosper  us  in  selling  the  wife  away  from 
the  husband,  and  ihe  child  away  from  the  parent ;  enable 
us  to  convert  the  blood  and  tears  of  our  fellow  creatures 
into  filthy  lucre  ;  help  us  to  degrade  man,  who  was  made 
in  Thine  image  ;  and  to  Father,  Son  and  Spuit  be  all  the 
QlQi-y  J' — Can  you  imagine  anything  more  astoundingly 
wicked  than  such  a  petition  ?  And  yet  I  am  positively  as- 
tonished that  they  have  not  got  up  monthly  concerts  of 
prayer,  and  fabricated  a  liturgy,  all  pregnant  with  just 
such  or  similar  blasphemies.  But  God  would  not  wait  for 
them  to  reach  this  acme  of  iniquity.  His  patience  is  ex- 
hausted, and  He  is  even  now  brmgmg  them  to  punish- 
ment." 

"  They  have  some  power  left  yet,  as  we  feel  to-night," 
said  Colburne. 

"  Yes.  I  have  seen  an  adder's  hfead  flatten  and  snap 
ten  mmutes  after  the  creature  was  cut  in  two.  I  dare  say 
it  might  have  inflicted  a  poisonous  wound."  * 

"  I  think  you  had  better  send  the  hands  to  the  fort." 

"  Do  you  anticipate  such  immediate  danger  ?"  inquired 
the  Doctor,  his  very  spectacles  expressing  surprise. 

"  I  feel  uneasy  every  time  I  think  of  those  Texans.  They 
are  fast  boys.  They  outmarch  their  own  shadows  some- 
times, and  have  to  wait  for  them  to  come  in  after  night- 
fall." 

"  I  really  ought  to  send  the  hands  ofl',"  admitted  the 
Doctor  after  a  minute  of  reflection.  "  I  never  could  for- 
o-ive  myself  if  through  my  means  they  should  be  returned 
to  bondage." 

"  It  would  be  a  poor  result  of  a  freedman's  labor  experi- 
ment." 

The  Doctor  went  to  the  back  door  and  shouted  for  Major 
Scott. 

"  Major,"  said  he,  "  you  must  take  all  the  people  down 
to  the  fort  as  soon  as  they  can  get  ready." 

"  They's  all  ready,  Marsr.  They's  only  a  waitin'  for  the 
word." 


From     Secession     to     Loyalty.        311 

"  Very  well,  Bring  tliein  along.  I'll  write  a  note  to 
the  commandant,  asking  him  to  take  yon  in  for  the  night. 
You  can  come  back  in  the  morning  if  all  is  quiet." 

"  What's  a  gwine  to  come  of  you  an'  Miss  Lillie  ?" 

"  Xever  mind  that  now.  I  will  see  to  that  presently. 
Brmg  the  people  along." 

In  five  minutes  fifteen  men,  six  women  and  four  pick- 
aninnies, the  whole  laboring  force  of  the  plantation,  were 
in  the  road  before  the  house,  each  loaded  Tv^ith  a  portion 
of  his  or  her  property,  such  as  blankets,  food,  and  cooking 
utensils.  The  men  looked  anxious ;  the  women  cried  loudly 
T\T-th  fright  and  grief;  the  pickanuinies  cried  because  their 
mothers  did. 

"  Oh,  Mars  Ravenel !  you'll  be*cotched  suah,"  sobbed  the 
old  mamma  who  did  the  family  cooking.  "  Mss  Lillie,  do 
come  'long  with  us." 

"  We'se  g^Yine  to  tote  some  o'  your  fixm's  'long,"  ob- 
served Major  Scott. 

"Better  let  him  do  it,"  said  Colburne.  "It  may  be 
your  only  chance  to  save  necessaries." 

So  the  negroes  added  to  their  loads  whatever  seemed 
most  valuable  and  essential  of  the  Ravenel  baggage.  Then 
Scott  received  the  note  to  the  commandant  of  the  fort, 
handed  it  to  Julius,  the  second  boss,  and  remarked  with 
dignity,  "I  stays  with  Marsr."  The  Major  was  undis- 
guisedly  alarmed,  but  he  had  a  character  to  sustam,  and  a 
military  title  to  justify.  He  was  immediately  joined  in  his 
forlorn  hope  by  Jim  the  "  no  *count  nigger,"  who,  being 
a  sly  and  limber  darkey,  fleet  of  foot,  and  familiar  with 
swamp  life,  had  a  faith  that  he  could  wriggle  out  of  any 
danger  or  captivity. 

"Keep  them,"  said  Colburne  to  Ravenel.  "  We  shall 
want  them  as  look-outs  during  the  night." 

There  was  an  evident  hesitation  in  the  whole  gang  as 
to  whether  they  should  go  or  stay ;  but  Colburne  settled 
the  question  by  pronouncing  in  a  tone  of  military  com- 
mand, "  Forward,  march  !" 


312         Miss     R  a  v  e  n  e  l  '  s     Conversion 

"  Ah !  they  knows  how  to  mmd  that  sort  o'  talk,"  said 
Major  Scott,  highly  gratified  with  the  spectacular  nature 
of  the  scene.  "  I'se  a  been  eddycatin'  'em  to  millingtary 
ways.     They  knows  a  heap  a'ready,  they  doos." 

He  smiled  with  a  simple  and  transitory  joy,  although  he 
could  hear  the  voice  of  his  wife  (commonly  called  Mamma 
Major)  rising  in  loud  lament  amid  the  chorus  of  sorrow 
with,  which  the  women  and  children  moved  away.  The 
poor  creature  kept  no  grudge  against  her  husband  for  his 
infidelity  of  a  month  previous. 

In  the  lonely  and  imperilled  little  household  Colburne 
now  took  command. 

"  Since  you  will  fight,"  he  said  smiling,  "  you  must  fight 
under  my  orders.  I  am  th*e  military  power,  and  I  proclaim 
martial  law." 

He  forbade  the  Ravenels  to  undress ;  they  must  be  pre- 
pared to  run  at  a  moment's  notice.  He  laughed  at  the 
Doctor's  proposition  to  barricade  the  doors  and  windows, 
and,  instead  thereof,  opened  two  or  three  trunks  and  scat- 
tered articles  of  little  value  about  the  rooms.  The  pro- 
perty would  be  a  bait,  he  said,  which  might  amuse  the 
raiders  while  the  family  escaped.  To  gratify  Major  Scott's 
tremulous  enthusiasm  he  loaded  his  own  revolver  and  the 
Doctor's  doubled-barreled  fowling-piece,  smiluig  sadly  to 
himself  to  think  how  absurd  was  the  idea  of  fighting  off"  a 
band  of  Texans  with  such  a  feeble  artillery.  He  posted 
the  two  negroes  as  a  vidette  a  quarter  of  a  mile  down  the 
road,  with  strict  orders  not  to  build  a  fire,  not  to  sleep, 
not  to  make  a  noise,  but  in  case  of  the  approach  of  a  party 
to  hasten  to  the  house  and  give  information.  The  Major 
begged  hard  for  the  fowling-piece,  but  Colburne  would  not 
let  him  have  it. 

"  He  would  be  worse  than  a  Xine  Months'  man,"  he  said 
to  the  Doctor.  "  He  would  be  bangmg  away  at  stumps 
and  shadows  all  night.  There  wouldn't  be  a  livmg  field 
mouse  on  the  plantation  by  morning." 

The  Doctor's  imagination  was  seriously  affected  by  these 


Fko^    Secession    to    Loyaltt.      313 
business-like  preparations,  and  .e  ^^^^ 

exammed  theu   Rainess    t  extinguished  every 

buckled  on  his  swoid  =^°a  revo^  ,       ^         ^^^^^^^^ 

light,  took  his  seat  -*  J  J^  ^J  yo.AM  veteran 
the  danger,  waited  '^'^'^  ^  ^  f^'^^^^j^t  tliat  he  had  taken 
was  perfectly  cabn   notwithstandin     t^t 

^ore  precautions  than  ^  f-^^^^^J,  ^^^e  visited  th^ 
would  have  ^^-fJ^7f^^,^:;Ue  then  mounted  the  levee 
negroes  to  see  if  they  ^^^^^  ^^  ^^^„,,  tte  bayou ;  then 
to  hsten  for  tramp  ot  men  oi  ^"  towards  the  woods 

went  to  the  sugar-house  f ^^  ^^  ^^n  reW  his  silent 
which  hacked  the  P^-f  ^«^;  ;^:"„,  ,Xhe  moon  stUl 

wat^h  at  *-P- -t°J\,f  fllriand.cape.  Colburne, 
poured  a  pale  light  o^el  xuc  ^^_ 

'^^■^T  ottSVl^  wo:5"w::Vst  saymg  to 
mamder  of  nutation  in  ^^  ,  ^-^^^^ 

g-S^^-^=^i;;^-r^^t^ 

S-ri^-:Sf  n—st/r  L,  he  stei^ed 
^l  th'e  parlor  and  a-kejhe  two  s^^^^^^^^^ 
.M^rc;mtnr ;e;ple^^id  out  of  an  anxious 
":Lps  nothmg,"   answered  Colburne.      "Only  be 
"By 'this  time  the  two  videttes  were  m  the  house, breath- 


314         Miss    Raven  el's    Conversion 

quarter  mile  off,  mebbe ;  but  they's  a  comiu'  right  smart. 
Oh  Cap'm,  please  give  me  the  double-barril  gun.  I  wants 
to  ficrht  for  my  liberty  an'  for  Mars  Ravenel  an'  for  Miss 
Lillie." 

"  Take  it,"  said  Colburne.  "  Xow  then.  Doctor,  you  and 
Jim  will  hurry  Mrs.  Carter  directly  down  the  road  to  the 
fort.  Jim  can  keep  up  on  foot.  The  Major  and  I  will  go 
to  the  woods,  fire  from  there,  and  draw  the  enemy  in  that 
direction." 

Every  one  obeyed  him  T\'ithout  a  word.  The  approach- 
ing tramp  of  horses  was  distmctly  audible  at  the  house 
when  the  Ravenels  mounted  the  mules  and  set  off  at  a  lum- 
berimr  trot,  the  animals  beingr  urcred  forward  bv  resound- 
mcr  whacks  from  Jim's  bludojeon.  Colburne  scowled  and 
grated  his  teeth  with  impatience  and  vexation. 

"I  ought  to  have  sent  them  away  last  evening,"  he 
muttered  with  a  throb  of  self-reproach. 

"  Scott,  you  and  I  will  have  to  fight,"  he  said  aloud. 
"  They  never  can  escape  unless  we  keep  the  rascals  here. 
We  must  fire  once  from  the  house ;  then  run  to  the  woods 
and  fire  asraiii  there.     We  must  show  ourselves  men  now." 

"  Yes,  Mars  Cap'm,"  replied  the  Major.  His  voice  was 
tremulous,  and  his  whole  fi-ame  shook,  but  he  was  never- 
theless ready  to  die,  if  need  be,  for  his  liberty  and  his 
benefactors.  Of  physical  courage  the  poor  fellow  had 
little ;  but  in  moral  courage  he  was  at  this  moment  sub- 
lime. 

Colburne  posted  himself  and  his  comrade  at  a  back 
corner  of  the  house,  where  they  could  obtain  a  yiew  of  the 
road  which  led  toward  Thibodeaux. 

"  Xow,  Scott,"  he  said,  "  you  must  not  fire  until  I  have 
fired.  You  must  not  fire  until  you  have  taken  aim  at 
somebody.  You  must  fire  only  one  barrel.  Then  you 
must  make  for  the  woods  along  the  line  of  this  fence.  If 
they  follow  us  on  horseback  we  can  bother  them  by  dodg- 
ing over  the  fence  now  and  then.  If  they  catch  us,  we 
must  fight  as  long  as  we  can.     Cheer  up,  old  fellow.    It'? 


Fko:si     Secession    to     Loyalty.       315 

all  riojlit.  It's  not  bad  business  as  soon  as  you're  used 
to  it." 

"  Cap'm,  I'se  ready,"  ansTvered  Scott  solemnly.  "  I'se 
not  gwine  for  ter  be  cotched  alive." 

Then  he  prayed  for  some  minutes  in  a  low  whisper, 
while  Colburne  stood  at  the  corner  and  watched.  "  Watch 
and  pray,"  the  latter  repeated  to  himself,  smiling  inwardly 
at  the  odd  compliance  with  the  double  injunction,  so 
strangely  does  the  mind  work  on  such  occasions.  It  was 
not  a  deliberate  process  of  intellection  with  him ;  it  was  an 
instinctive  flash  of  ideas,  not  traceable  to  any  feeling 
which  was  m  him  at  the  time  ;  on  the  contrary,  his  pre- 
vailing emotion  was  one  of  extreme  anxiety.  The  tramp 
which  fled  toward  the  fort  gently  diminished  m  the  dis- 
tance, while  the  tramp  which  approached  from  the  oppo- 
site side  grew  nearer  and  louder.  When  the  advancing 
horsemen  got  witliin  a  hundred  yards  of  the  house,  they 
slackened  their  pace  to  a  walk,  and  finally  halted,  jn'oba- 
bly  to  listen.  Some  of  them  must  have  dismounted  at  this 
time,  for  Colburne  suddenly  beheld  four  footmen  at  the 
front  gate.  He  scowled  at  this  sign  of  experienced  cau- 
tion, and  gave  a  hasty  glance  toward  the  garden  in  his 
rear,  to  see  if  others  were  not  cutting  ofi"  his  retreat.  He 
could  not  discover  the  features  of  any  of  the  four,  but  he 
could  see  that  they  were  of  the  tall  and  lank  Texan  type, 
dressed  in  brownish  clothing,  and  provided  with  short 
guns,  no  doubt  double-barreled  fowling-pieces.  Inside  of 
the  gate  they  halted  and  seemed  to  hearken,  while  one  of 
them  pointed  up  the  road  toward  the  fort,  and  whispered 
to  his  comrades.  Colburne  had  hoped  that  they  would  get 
into  the  house,  and  fall  to  plundering  ;  but  they  had  evi- 
dently overheard  the  fugitives,  for  there  was  a  simulta- 
neous backward  movement  in  the  group — they  were  going 
to  i-emount  and  pursue.  ISTow  was  his  time,  if  ever,  to 
eflect  the  proposed  diversion.  Aiming  his  six-inch  revolver 
at  the  tallest,  he  fired  a  single  barrel.  The  man  yelled  a 
curse,  staggered,  dropped  his  gun,  and  leaned  against  the 


316         Miss     R  a  ten  el's     Conveksiox 

fence.  Two  of  his  comrades  sprang  across  the  road,  and 
threw  themselves  behmd  the  levee  as  a  breast-work,  while 
the  fourth,  all  grit,  turned  short  and  brought  his  fowlmg- 
piece  to  a  level  as  Colburne  drew  behmd  -his  cover.  In 
that  same  moment,  Major  Scott,  wild  with  a  sudden  mad- 
ness of  conflict,  shouted  like  a  lion,  bounded  beyond  the 
angle  of  the  house,  planting  himself  on  two  feet  set  wide 
apart,  his  mad  black  face  set  toward  the  enemy,  and  his 
gun  aimed.  Both  fired  at  the  same  instant,  and  both  fell 
together,  probably  alike  lifeless.  The  last  prayer  of  the 
negro  was,  "  My  God !"  and  the  last  curse  of  the  rebel 
was  "  Damnation !" 

By  the  light  of  the  moon  Colburne  looked  at  his  com- 
rade, and  saw  the  brains  following  the  blood  from  a  hole 
in  the  centre  of  his  forehead.  He  cast  a  glance  at  the 
levee,  fired  one  more  barrel  at  a  broad-brimmed  hat  whicli 
rose  above  it,  listened  for  a  second  to  an  advancing  rush 
of  hoofs  in  order  to  decide  whether  it  came  by  the  road 
or  by  the  fields,  turned,  crossed  the  garden  on  a  noiseless 
run,  placed  himself  on  the  further  side  of  a  high  and 
close  plantation-fence,  and  followed  its  cover  rapidly  to- 
ward the  forest.  The  distance  was  less  than  a  quarter 
of  a  mile,  but  he  was  quite  breathless  and  fiiint  before  he 
had  traversed  it,  so  weak  was  he  still,  and  so  little  ac- 
customed to  exercise.  In  the  edge  of  the  wood  he  sat 
down  on  a  fallen  and  mouldering  trunk  to  listen.  If  the 
cavalry  'were  pursuing  their  course  up  the  road,  they 
were  doing  it  very  pnidently  and  sloAvly,  for  he  could 
hear  no  more  trampling  of  horses.  Tolerably  satisfied  as 
to  the  safety  of  the  Ravenels,  he  reloaded  his  two  empty 
barrels,  settled  his  course  in  his  mind,  and  pushed  as 
straight  as  he  could  for  Taylorsville  without  quitting 
the  cover  of  the  forest.  Although  the  fort  was  not  four 
miles  away  in  a  direct  line,  it  was  daybreak  when  he 
came  in  sight  of  a  low  flattened  outline,  as  of  a  trun- 
cated mound,  which  showed  dimly  through  the  yellow- 
itih  morning  mist.     He  had  still  to  cross  a  dead  level  of 


Feom    Secession    to    Loyalty.         317 

four  or  five  hundred  yards,  witli  no  points  of  shelter  but 
three  small  wooden  houses.  At  this  moment 'wlien  safety 
seemed  so  near  and  sure,  he  saw  on  the  bayou  road,  two 
hundred  yards  to  his  right,  half  a  dozen  black  and  in- 
distinct bunches  moving  in  a  direction  parallel  to  his 
own.  They  were  unquestionably  horsemen  going  toward 
the  fort,  and  nearer  to  it  than  he.  Changmg  his  direction,- 
he  made  straight  for  the  river,  struck  it  above  the  fortifi- 
cation, and  got  behmd  the  levee,  thus  securing  both  a 
covered  way  to  hide  his  course,  and  an  earthwork  from 
behind  which  he  could  fight.  He  lost  no  time  in  peeping 
over  the  top  of  the  mound,  but  pushed  ahead  at  his  best 
speed,  supposing  that  no  cavalry  scouts  would  dare  ap- 
proach very  near  to  a  garrison  supplied  with,  artillery. 
He  could  see  a  sentry  pacing  the  ramparts,  the  dark  uni- 
form showing  clear  against  the  grey  sky  beyond.  He 
even  thought  that  the  man  perceived  him,  and  supposed 
that  his  dangers  were  over  for  the  present.  He  was  full 
of  exhilaration,  and  glanced  back  at  the  events  of  the 
night  with,  a  sense  of  satisfaction,  taking  it  all  for  granted 
with  a  resolute  faith  of  satisfaction,  that  the  liavenels  had 
escaped.  Major  Scott  was  dead ;  he  was  really  quite  sorry 
for  that ;  but  then  two  Texans  had  been  killed,  or  at  least 
disabled ;  the  war  was  so  much  nearer  its  close.  In  a 
small  way  he  felt  much  as  a  general  does  who  has  eflected 
a  masterly  retreat,  and  inflicted  severe  loss  upon  the  pur- 
suing enemy. 

Presently  a  break  in  the  bank  forced  him  to  mount  the 
levee.  As  he  reached  the  top  he  stared  in  astonishment 
and  some  dismay  at  a  man  in  butternut-colored  clothing, 
mounted  on  a  rough  pony,  with  the  double-barreled  gun 
of  Greene's  mosstroopers  across  his  saddle-bow,  who  was 
posted  on  the  road  not  forty  feet  distant.  The  Butternut 
immediately  said,  in  the  pleasant  way  current  in  armies, 
"  Halt,  you  son  of  a  bitch  !" 

He  fired,  but  missed,  as  Colburne  skirted  the  break  on  a 
run,  and  S23rang  again  behind  the  levee.      The   Captain 


318        Miss     Ravexel's     C  ox  version 

then  fired  in  return,  with  no  other  effect  than  to  make  the 
Butternut  gallop  beyond  revolver  range.  From  this  dis- 
tance he  called  out,  ironically,  "  I  say,  Yank,  have  you 
heard  from  Brashear  City  ?" 

Colburne  made  no  reply,  but  continued  his  retreat  un- 
molested. When  the  sentinel  challenged,  "  Halt !  who 
comes  there  ?"  he  thought  he  had  never  heard  a  pleasanter 
welcome. 

"  Friend,"  he  answered. 

"  Halt,  friend  !  Corporal  of  the  guard,  number  five," 
shouted  the  sentry. 

The  corporal  appeared,  recognized  Colburne,  and  let 
him  in  through  the  gate  in  a  j^alisade  which  connected 
one  angle  of  the  fort  with  the  river.  The  garrison  was 
already  under  arms,  and  the  men  were  lying  down  behind 
the  low  works,  with  their  equipments  on  and  their  mus- 
kets by  their  ^ides.  The  first  person  from  the  plantation 
whom  Colburne  saw  was  Mauma  Major. 

"  Where  is  Mrs.  Carter,  aunty  ?"  he  asked. 

"They's  all  here,  bress  the  Lord!  And  now  you's 
come  !"  shouted  the  good  fat  creature,  clapping  her  hands 
with  delight.     "  Whar  my  ole  man  ?" 

"  In  heaven,"  said  Colburne,  with  a  solemn  tenderness 
which  carried  instant  conviction.  The  woman  screamed, 
and  went  down  upon  her  knees  with  an  air  and  face  of 
such  anguish  as  might  cast  shame  upon  those  philosophers 
as  have  asserted  that  the  negro  is  not  a  man. 

"  Oh  !  the  Lord  gave  !  The  Lord  gave  !"  she  repeated, 
wildly. 

Perhaps  she  had  forgotten,  perhaps  she  never  knew,  the 
remainder  of  the  text ;  but  its  piteous  sense  of  bereave- 
ment, and  of  more  than  human  consolation,  was  evidently 
clear  m  some  manner  to  her  soul. 


Fkom    Secession    to    Loyalty.         319 


CHAPTER  XXIII. 

CAPTAIN  COLBITRXE  COYERS  THE  RETREAT  OF  THE  SOUTHERN 
LABOR  ORGANIZATION. 

CoLBURNE  soon  cliscoYerecl  the  RaYenels  and  their  re^ 
tamers  biYonacked  in  an  angle  of  the  fortification.  The 
Doctor  actually  embraced  him  in  delight  at  his  escape ; 
and  Mrs.  Carter  seized  both  his  hands  in  hers,  exclaimmg, 
«  Oh,  I  am  so  happy  !"  ^     ^.^ 

She  was  full  of  gayetY.  She  had  had  a  splendid  nap ; 
had  actually  slept  out  of  doors.  Did  he  see  that  tent  made 
out  of  a  blanket  ?  She  had  slept  m  that.  She  could  biYOuac 
as  well  as  you,  Captain  Colburne  ;  she  was  as  good  a  sol- 
dier as  you.  Captain  Colburne.  She  liked  it,  ol  all  thmgs 
in  the  world.  She  neYer  would  sleep  in  the  house  agam 
till  she  was  fif—  sixty. 

It  was  curious  to  note  how  she  checked  herself  upon  the 
point  of  mentioning  fifty  as  the  era  of  first  decrepitude. 
Her  father  was  OYcr  fifty,  and  therefore  fifty  could  not  be 
old  age,  notwithstandmg  her  preconceiYed  opmions  on  the 

subject.  ,       T  T    1     1 

"  But  oh  how  obliged  we  are  to  you  !"  she  added,  chang- 
ino-  suddenly  to  a  serious  Yiew.  "How  kmd  and  noble 
and  braYe  you  are !  We  owe  you  so  much  !-Isn  t  it 
strano-e  that  I  should  be  saymg  such  thmgs  to  you  ^  L 
■  ncYei^thouo-ht  that  I  should  cYcr  say  anythmg  of  the  kmd  to 
any  man  but  my  father  and  my  husband.  I  am  mdeed  grate- 
ful to  you,  and  thankful  that  you  have  escaped." 

As  she  spoke,  her  eyes  filled  with  tears.  There  was  a 
singular  changeableness  about  her  of  late ;  she  shitted 
rapidly  and  without  warnmg,  almost  without  cause,  from 
one  emotion  to  another ;  she  felt  and  expressed  all  emotions 
with  more  than  usual  fervor.  She  was  sadder  at  times 
and  gayer  at  times  than  circumstances  seemed  to  justify. 
An  ordinary  observer,  a  man  especially,  would  have  been 


320  Miss    Ravexel's     Conyersion 

apt  to  consider  some  of  her  conduct  odd,  if  not  irrational. 
The  truth  is  that  she  had  been  living  a  new  life  for  the 
past  two  months,  and  that  her  being,  i:»hysical  and  moral, 
had  not  yet  been  able  to  settle  into  a  tranquil  unity  of 
function  and  feeling.  Many  women  and  a  few  men  will 
understand  me  here.  Colbm-ne  was  too  merely  a  young 
man  to  comprehend  anything  ;  but  he  could  stand  a  little 
way  off  and  worship.  He  thought,  as  she  faced  him  with 
her  cheeks  flushed  and  her  eyes  the  brighter  for  tears,  that 
she  was  very  near  in  guise  and  nature  to  an  angel.  It 
may  be  a  paradox  ;  it  may  be  a  dangerous  fact  to  make, 
public ;  but  he  certainly  was  loving  another  man's  wife 
with  j^erfect  innocence. 

"  What  is  the  matter  with  Mauma  Major  ?"  asked  the 
Doctor. 

Colburne  briefly  related  the  martyrdom  of  Scott ;  and 
father  and  daughter  hurried  to  console  the  weeping  black 
woman. 

Then  the  young  soldier  bethought  himself  that  he  oup^ht 
to  report  his  knowledge  of  the  rebels  to  the  commandant 
of  the  garrison.  "  You  '11  find  the  cuss  in  there,"  said  a 
devil-may-care  lieutenant,  pointing  to  a  brick  structure  in 
the  centre  of  the  fort.  Colburne  entered,  saw  an  oflicer 
sleeping  on  a  pile  of  blankets,  and  to  his  astonishment 
recognized  him  as  Major  Gaza  way.  In  slumber  this  re- 
markable poltroon  looked  respectably  formidable.  He 
was  six  feet  in  height  and  nearly  two  hundred  pounds  in 
weight, "large-limbed,  deep-chested,  broad-shouldered,  dark 
in  complexion,  aquiline  in  feature,  masculine  and  even 
stern  in  expression.  He  had  begun  life  as  a  prize  fighter, 
but  had  failed  in  that  career,  not  because  he  lacked 
strength  or  skill,  but  from  want  of  pluck  to  stand  the  ham- 
mering. Nevertheless  he  was  a  tolerable  hand  at  a  rough- 
and-tumble  fight,  and  still  more  efficient  in  election-day 
bullying  and  browbeating.  For  the  last  ten  years  he  had 
kept  a  billiard  saloon,  had  held  various  small  public  offices, 
and  had  been  the  Isaiah  Rynders  of  his  little  city.     On  the 


Feo:m    Secession    to    Loyalty.        321 

stump  lie  had  a  low  kiiid  of  popular  eloquence  made  up  of 
coarse  denunciation,  slanderous  lying,  bar-room  slang, 
smutty  stories,  and  j)rofanity.  The  Rebellion  broke  out ; 
the  Rebel  cannon  aimed  at  Fort  Sumter  knocked  the  breath 
out  of  the  Democratic  party  ;  and  Gazaway_  turned  Re- 
publican, bruigmg  over  two  hundred  fighting  voters,  and 
changing  the  political  complexion  of  his  district.  Conse- 
quently he  easily  got  a  commision  as  captain  in  the  three 
months'  campaign,  and  subsequently  as  major  in  the  Tenth, 
much  to  the  disgust  of  its  commandant.  He  had  expected 
and  demanded  a  colonelcy  ;  he  thought  that  the  Gorernor, 
in  not  granting  it,  had  treated  him  with  ingratitude  and 
black  injustice  ;  he  honestly  believed  this,  and  was  naively 
sore  and  angry  on  the  subject.  It  needed  this  trait  of  born 
impudence  to  render  his  character  altogether  contemptible  ; 
for  had  he  been  a  conscious,  humble  coward,  he  would 
have  merited  a  pity  not  altogether  disunited  from  respect. 
From  the  day  of  receiving  his  commission  Gazaway  had 
not  ceased  to  intrigue  and  bully  for  promotion  in  a  long 
series  of  blotted  and  ill-spelled  letters.  How  could  a  mere 
Major  ever  hope  to  go  before  the  people  successfully  as  a 
candidate  for  Congress  ?  That  distinction  was  the  aim  of 
Gazaway,  as  of  many  another  more  or  less  successful  black- 
guard. It  is  true  that  these  horrid  battles  occasionally 
shook  his  ambition  and  his  confidence  in  liis  own  merits. 
Under  fire  he  was  a  meek  man,  much  given  to  lying  low, 
to  praying  fervently,  to  thinking  that  a  whole  skin  was 
better  than  laurels.  But  m  a  few  hours  after  the  danger 
was  past,  his  elastic  vanity  and  selfishness  rose  to  the  oc- 
casion, and  he  was  as  pompous  in  air,  as  dogmatical  m 
speech,  as  impudently  greedy  in  his  demands  for  advance- 
ment as  ever.  Such  was  one  of  Colburne's  superior  offi- 
cers ;  such  was  the  dastard  to  whom  the  wounded  hero  re- 
ported for  duty.  Colburne,  by  the  way,  had  never  asked 
for  promotion,  believing,  with  the  faith  of  chivalrous  youth, 
that  merit  would  be  sure  of  undemanded  recognition. 
After  several  calls  of  "  Major  !"  the  slumberer  came  to 


322         Miss    Ravenel's    Conversion 

his  consciousness ;  he  used  it  by  rolling  over  on  his  side, 
and  endeavoring  to  resume  his  dozings.  lie  had  not  been 
able  to  sleep  till  late  the  night  before  on  account  of  his 
terrors,  and  now  he  was  reposing  like  an  animal,  anxious 
chiefly  to  be  let  alone. 

"  Major — excuse  me — I  have  something  ol'  importance  to 
report,"  insisted  the  Captain. 

"  Well ;  what  is  it  ?"  snarled  Gazaway.  Then,  catching 
sight  of  Colburne,  "  Oh  !  that  you.  Cap  ?  "Where  you 
from  ?" 

"  From  a  plantation  five  miles  below,  on  the  bayou.  I 
was  followed  in  closely  b\^  the  rebel  cavalry.  Their 
pickets  are  less  than  half  a  mile  from  the  fort." 

"  My  God !"  exclaimed  Gazaway,  sitting  up  and  throw- 
ing oiF  his  musquito-net.  "  What  do  you  think  ?  They 
ain't  gomg  to  attack  the  fort,  be  they  ?"  Then  calling  his 
homespun  pomposity  to  his  aid,  he  added,  with  a  show  of 
bravado,  "I  can't  see  it.  They  know  better.  We  can 
knock  spots  out  of  'em." 

"  Of  course  we  can,"  coincided  the  Captam.  ''  I  don't 
believe  they  have  any  siege  artillery  ;  and  if  we  can't  beat 
off"  an  assault  we  ought  to  be  cat-o'-nme-tailed." 

"  Cap,  I  vow  I  wish  I  had  your  health,"  said  the  Major, 
gazmg  shamelessly  at  Colburne's  thm  and  pale  face.  "  You 
can  stand  anything.  I  used  to  think  I  could,  but  this 
cussed  climate  fetches  )7ie.  I  swear  I  hain't  been  myself 
smce  I  come  to  Louisianny." 

It  is  true  that  the  Major  had  not  been  m  field  service 
what  he  once  honestly  thought  he  was.  He  had  supposed 
himself  to  be  a  brave  man  ;  he  was  never  disenchanted  of 
this  belief  except  while  on  the  battle-field ;  and  after  he 
had  run  away  he  always  said  and  tried  to  believe  that  it 
was  because  he  was  sick. 

"  I  was  took  sick  with  my  old  trouble,  he  continued  ; 
"  same  as  I  had  at  Xew  Orleans,  you  know— th6  very  day 
that  we  attacked  Port  Hudson." 

By  the  way,  he  had  not  had  it  at  New  Orleans ;  he  fiad 


Feom     Secession     to     Loyalty.        323 

had  it  at  Georgia  Landing  and  Camp  Beasland  ;  but  Col- 
burne  did  not  correct  him. 

"  By  George  !  Avhat  a  day  that  was !"  he  exclaimed,  re- 
ferring to  the  assault  of  the  2'7th  of  May.  "  I'll  bet  more'n 
a  hundred  shots  come  within  five  feet  of  me.  If  I  could  a 
kep*'  up  with  the  regiment,  I'd  a  done  it.  But  I  couldn't. 
I  had  to  go  straight  to  the  hospital.  I  tell  you  I  suffered 
there.  I  couldn't  get  no  kind  of  attention,  there  was  so 
many  wounded  there.  After  a  few  days  I  set  out  for  the 
regiment,  and  found  it  in  a  holler  where  the  rebel  bullets 
was  skipping  about  like  parched  peas  in  a  skillet.  But  I 
was  too  sick  to  stand  it.  I  had  to  put  back  to  the  hos- 
pital. Finally  the  Doctor  he  sent  me  to  Xew  Orleans. 
Well,  I  was  just  gettin'  a  little  flesh  on  my  bones  when 
General  Emory  ordered  every  man  that  could  walk  to  be 
put  to  duty.  Xothing  would  do  but  I  must  take  com- 
mand of  this  fort.  I  got  here  yesterday  morning,  and  the 
boat  went  back  in  the  afternoon,  and  here  we  be  in  a  hell 
of  a  muss.  I  brought  twenty  such  invalids  along — men 
no  more  fit  for  duty  than  I  be.     I  swear  it's  a  shame." 

Colburne  did  not  utfer  the  disgust  and  contempt  which 
he  felt ;  he  turned  away  in  silence,  intending  to  look  up 
dressmgs  for  his  arm,  which  had  become  dry  and  feverish. 
The  Major  called  him  back, 

"  I  say.  Cap,  if  the  enemy  are  in  force,  what  are  we  to 
do  ?" 

"  Why,  we  shall  fight,  of  course." 

"  But  we  ha'n't  got  men  enough  to  stand  an  assault." 

"  How  many  ?" 

"One  little  comp'ny  Louisianny  men,  two  comp'nies 
nine  months'  men,  and  a  few  invalids." 

"  That's  enough.     Have  you  any  spare  arms  ?" 

"  I  d'no.  I  reckon  so,"  said  the  Major,  in  a  peevish  tone. 
"  I  reckon  you'd  better  hunt  up  the  Quartermaster,  if 
there  is  one.     I  s'pose  he  has  'em." 

"  A  friend  of  mine  has  brought  fifteen  able-bodied  ne- 
groes into  the  fort.     I  want  guns  for  them." 


324         Miss     Rayexel's     Conversion 

"  Niggers  !"  sneered  the  Major.    "  What  good  be  they  ?" 

Losing  all  patience,  Colburne  disrespectfully  turned  his 
"back  without  answering,  and  left  the  room. 

"  I  say.  Cap,  if  we  let  them  niggers  fight  Ave'll  be  all 
massacred,"  were  the  last  words  that  he  heard  from  Gaza- 
way. 

Having  got  his  arm  bound  anew  with  wet  dressings,  he 
sought  out  the  Quartermaster,  and  proceeded  to  accouter 
the  Ravenel  negroes,  meanwhile  chewmg  a  breakfast  of 
hard  crackers.  Then,  meeting  the  Lieutenant  who  had  di- 
rected him  to  Gazaway's  quarters,  and  who  proved  to  be 
the  commandant  of  the  Louisiana  company,  they  made  a 
tour  of  the  ramparts  together,  doing  their  volunteer  best 
to  take  in  the  military  features  of  the  flat  surrounding 
landscape,  and  to  decide  upon  the  line  of  approach  which 
the  rebels  would  probably  select  in  cjlse  of  an  assault. 
There  was  no  cover  except  tAVO  or  three  wooden  houses  of 
such  slight  texture  that  they  would  afford  no  jirotection 
against  shell  or  grape.  The  levee  on  the  op]X)site  side  of 
the  baj^ou  might  shelter  sharpshooters,  but  not  a  column. 
They  trained  a  tAventy-four-pounder  iron  gun  in  that  di- 
rection, and  pointed  the  rest  of  the  artillery  so  as  to 
sweep  the  plain  between  the  fort  and  a  wood  half  a  mile 
distant.  The  ditch  was  deep  and  wide,  and  well  filied 
with  water,  but  there  was  no  abattis  or  other  obstruction 
outside  of  it.  Tlie  weakest  front  was  toward  the  Missis- 
sippi, on  which  side  the  rampart  was  a  mere  bank  not  five 
feet  in  hight,  scarcely  domhiating  the  slope  of  twenty-five 
or  thirty  yards  which  stretched  between  it  and  the  water. 

"  I  wish  the  river  was  higher — smack  up  to  the  fortifi- 
cations," said  the  Louisiana  lieutenant.  "  They  can  wade 
around  them  fences,"  he  added,  pointing  to  the  palisades 
which  connected  the  work  with  the  river. 

This  officer  was  not  a  Louisianian  by  birth,  any  more 
than  the  men  whom  he  commanded.  They  were  a  medley 
of  all  nations,  principally  Lish  and  Germans,  and  he  had 
begun  his  martial  career  as  a  volunteer  m  an  Indiana  regi- 


From    Secession    to    Loyalty.         325 

ment.  He  was  chock  full  of  fight  and  confidence ;  this 
was  the  only  fort  he  had  ever  ganisoned,  and  he  consid- 
ered it  almost  impregnable  ;  his  single  doubt  was  lest  the 
assailants  "might  wade  in  around  them  fences."  Col- 
burne,  remembering  how  Banks  had  been  repulsed  twice 
from  inferior  works  at  Port  Hudson,  also  thought  the 
chances  good  for  a  defence.  Indeed,  he  looked  forward 
to  the  combat  with  something  like  a  vindictive  satisfac- 
tion. Heretofore  he  had  always  attacked ;  and  he  wanted  to 
fight  the  rebels  once  from  behind  a  rampart ;  he  wanted  to 
teach  them  what  it  was  to  storm  fortifications.  If  he  had 
been  better  educated  in  his  profession  he  would  have 
found  the  fort  alarmingly  small  and  open,  destitute  as  it 
was  of  bomb-proofs,  casemates  and  traverses.  The  river 
showed  no  promise  of  succor;  not  a  gunboat  or  transport 
appeared  on  its  broad,  slow,  yellow  current ;  not  a  friendly 
smoke  could  be  seen  across  the  flat  distances.  The  little 
garrison,  it  seemed,  must  rely  upon  its  own  strength  and 
courage.  But,  after  taking  a  deliberate  view  of  all  the 
circumstances,  Colburne  felt  justified  in  reporting  to  Major 
Gaza  way  that  the  fort  could  beat  ofi"  as  many  Texans  as 
could  stand  between  it  and  the  woods,  which  was  the  same 
as  to  say  a  matter  of  one  or  two  hundred  thousand.  Leav- 
ing his  superior  officer  in  a  state  of  spasmodic  and  short- 
lived courage,  he  spread  his  rubber  blanket  in  a  shady 
corner,  rolled  up  his  coat  for  a  pillow,  laid  himself  down, 
and  slept  till  nearly  noon.  When  he  awoke,  the  Doctor 
was  holding  an  umbrella  over  him. 

"  I  am  ever  so  much  obliged  to  you,"  said  Colburne,  sit- 
ting up. 

"  ^ot  at  all.  I  was  afraid  you  might  get  the  fever. 
Our  Louisiana  sun,  you  know,  doesn't  dispense  beneficence 
alone.  I  saw  that  it  had  found  you  out,  and  I  rushed  to 
the  rescue." 

"  Is  Mrs.  Carter  sheltered  ?"  asked  the  Captain. 

"  She  is  very  comfortably  ofi",  considering  the  circum- 
stances." 


326        Miss    Ravenel's     Conversion 

He  was  twiddling  and  twirling  his  umbrella  as  though 
he  had  something  on  liis  mind. 

"  I  want  you  to  do  me  a  favor,"  he  said,  after  a  moment. 
"  I  should  really  like  a  gun,  if  it  is  not  too  much  trouble." 

The  idea  of  the  Doctor,  with  his  fifty-five  years,  his 
peaceful  habits,  and  his  spectacles,  rushing  to  battle  made 
Colburne  smile.  Another  imaginary  picture,  the  image  of 
Lillie  weeping  over  her  father's  body,  restored  his  serious- 
ness. 

"  What  would  Mrs.  Carter  say  to  it  ?"  he  asked. 

"  I  should  be  obliged  if  you  would  not  mention  it  to 
her,"  answered  the  Doctor.  "I  think  the  matter  can  be 
managed  without  her  knowledge." 

Accordingly  Colburne  fitted  out  this  unexpected  recruit 
with  a  rifle-musket,  and  showed  him  how  to  load  it,  and 
how  to  put  on  his  accoutrements.  This  done,  he  reverted 
to  the  subject  which  most  interested  his  mind  just  at 
present. 

"  Mrs.  Carter  must  be  better  sheltered  than  she  is,"  he 
said.  "  In  case  of  an  assault,  she  would  be  in  the  way 
where  she  is,  and,  moreover,  she  might  get  hit  by  a  chance 
bullet.  I  will  tell  the  Major  that  his  Colonel's  wife  is  here, 
and  that  he  must  turn  out  for  her." 

"  Do  you  think  it  best  ?"  questioned  the  Doctor. 
"  Really,  I  hate  to  disturb  the  commandant  of  the  fort." 

But  Colburne  did  thmk  it  best,  and  Gazaway  was  not 
hard  to  convince.  He  hated  to  lose  his  shelter,  poor  as  it 
was,  but  he  had  a  salutary  dread  of  his  absent  Colonel, 
and  remembermg  how  dubious  had  been  his  o^snl  record 
in  field  service,  he  thought  it  wise  to  secure  the  favor  of 
Mrs.  Carter.  Accordingly  Lillie,  accompanied  by  Black 
Julia,  moved  into  the  brick  building,  notwithstanding  her 
late  declarations  that  she  liked  nothing  so  well  as  sleeping 
in  the  open  air. 

"Premature  old  age,"  laughed  Colburne.  "Sixty 
already." 


Fko^t     Secession    to     Loyalty.       327 

"  It  is  the  African  Dahomey,  and  not  the  American, 
which  produces  the  Amazons,"  observed  the  Doctor. 

"  If  you  don't  stop  I  shall  be  severe,"  threatened  Lillie. 
"  I  have  a  door  now  to  tm-n  people  out  of" 

"  Just  as  though  that  was  a  punishment,"  said  Colburne. 
"  I  thought  out-of-doors  was  the  place  to  live." 

As  is  usual  with  people  in  circumstances  of  romance 
which  are  not  mstantly  and  overpowermgiy  alarmmg, 
there  was  an  exhilaration  in  their  spirits  which  tended  to- 
wards gayety.  While  Mrs.  Carter  and  Oolburne  were 
thus  jesting,  the  Doctor  shyly  introduced  his  martial 
equipments  into  the  house,  and  concealed  them  under  a 
blanket  in  one  corner.  Presently  the  two  men  adjourned 
to  the  ramparts,  to  learn  the  cause  of  a  commotion  which 
was  visible  among  the  garrison.  Far  up  the  bayou  road 
thin  yellow- clouds  of  dust  could  be  seen  rising  above  the 
trees,  no  doubt  indicating  a  movement  of  troops  in  con- 
siderable force.  From  that  quarter  no  advance  of  friends, 
but  only  of  Texan  cavalry  and  Louisianian  infantry,  could 
be  expected.  Xearly  all  the  soldiers  had  left  their  shel- 
ters of  boards  and  rubber  blankets,  and  were  watching  the 
threatening  phenomenon  with  a  grave  jSxedness  of  expres- 
sion which  showed  that  they  fully  appreciated  its  deadly 
significance.  Sand-columns  of  the  desert,  water-spouts  of 
the  ocean,  are  a  less  impressive  spectacle  than  the  ap- 
proaching dust  of  a  hostile  army.  The  old  and  tried  sol- 
dier knows  all  that  it  means ;  he  knows  how  tremendous 
will  be  the  screech  of  the  shells  and  the  ghastliness  of  the 
wounds ;  he  faces  it  with  an  inward  shrinking,  although 
with  a  calm  determination  to  do  his  duty ;  his  time  for 
elation  will  not  come  until  his  blood  is  heated  by  fighting, 
and  he  joins  in  the  yeU  of  the  charge.  The  recruit,  deeply 
moved  by  the  novelty  of  the  sight,  and  the  unknown 
grandeur  of  horror  or  of  glory  which  it  presages,  is  either 
vaguely  terrified  or  full  of  excitement.  Calm  as  is  the  ex- 
terior of  most  men  in  view  of  approaching  battle,  not  one 
of  them  looks  upon  it  with  entire  indifference.     But  let  the 


328         Miss    Ravexel's     Conversion 

eyes  on  the  fortifications  strain  as  they  might,  no  lines  of 
trooj^s  could  he  distinguished,  and  there  was  little,  if  any, 
increase  in  the  number  of  the  rebel  pickets  who  sat  sen- 
tinel in  their  saddles  under  the  shade  of  scattered  trees 
and  houses.  Presently  the  murmur  "  A  flag  of  truce  !"  ran 
along  the  line  of  spectators.  Down  the  road  which  skirted 
the  northern  bank  of  the  bayou  rode  slowly,  amidst  a  little 
cloud  of  dust,  a  party  of  four  horsemen,  one  of  whom 
carried  a  white  flag. 

"  What  does  that  mean,"  asked  Gazaway.  "  Do  you 
thmk  peace  is  proclaimed  ?" 

"It  means  that  they  want  this  fort,"  said  Colburne. 
"  They  are  going  to  commit  the  impertinence  of  asking  us 
to  surrender." 

The  Major's  aquiline  visage  was  very  pale,  and  his  out- 
stretched hand  shook  visibly  ;  he  was  evidently  seized  by 
the  complaint  which  had  so  troubled  him  at  Port  Hudson. 

"  Cap,  what  shall  I  do  ?"  he  inquired  in  a  confidential 
whisper,  twisting  one  of  his  tremulous  fingers  into  Col- 
burne's  buttonhole,  and  drawing  him  aside. 

"  Tell  them  to  go  to ,  and  then  send  them  there," 

said  the  Captain,  angrily,  perceiving  that  Gazaway's  feel- 
mgs  inclined  toward  a  capitulation.  "  Send  out  an  oflicer 
and  escort  to  meet  the  fellows  and  bring  in  their  message. 
They  mustn't  be  allowed  to  come  inside." 

"  Xo,  no  ;  of  course  not.  We  couldn't  git  very  good 
terms  if  they  should  see  how  few  we  be,"  returned  the 
Major,  unable  to  see  the  matter  in  any  other  light  than 
that  of  his  own  terrors.  "  Well,  Cap,  you  go  and  meet  the 
feller.  Xo,  you  stay  here ;  I  want  to  talk  to  you.  Here, 
Where's  that  Louisianny  Lieutenant  ?  Oh,  Lieutenant,  you- 
go  out  to  that  feller  with  jest  as  many  men  's  he's  got ; 
stop  him  's  soon  's  you  git  to  him,  and  send  in  his  business. 
Send  it  in  by  one  of  your  men,  you  know ;  and  take  a 
white  flag,  or  han'kerch'f,  or  suthiu'." 

When  Gazaway  was  in  a  perturbed  state  of  mind,  liis 
con^  ersation  had  an  unusual  twang  of  the  provincialisms 


Fkom    Secession    to    Loyalty.      329 

of  tone  and  grammar  amidst  which  he  had  been  educated, 
or  rather  had  grown  up  without  an  education. 

At  sight  of  the  Union  flag  of  truce,  the  rebel  one, 
now  only  a  quarter  of  a  mile  from  the  fort,  halted  under 
the  shadow  of*an  evergreen  oak  by  the  roadside.  After  a 
j^arley  of  a  few  minutes,  the  Louisiana  Lieutenant  re- 
turned, beaded  with  perspiration,  and  delivered  to  Gaza- 
way  a  sealed  envelope.  The  latter  opened  it  with  fingers 
which  worked  as  awkwardly  as  a  worn-out  paii*  of  tongs, 
read  the  enclosed  note  with  evident  difficulty,  cast  a 
troubled  eye  up  and  down  the  river,  as  if  looking  in  vam 
for  help,  beckoned  Colburne  to  follow  him,  and  led  the 
way  to  a  deserted  angle  of  the  fort. 

"I  say,  Cap,"  he  whispered,  "we've  got  to  surrender." 

Colburne  looked  him  sternly  in  the  face,  but  could  not 
catch  his  cowardly  eye. 

"  Take  care.  Major,"  he  said. 

Gazaway  started  as  if  he  had  been  threatened  with  per- 
sonal violence. 

"  You  are  a  ruined  man  if  you  surrender  this  fort,"  pur- 
sued Colburne. 

The  Major  writhed  his  Herculean  form,  and  looked  all 
the  anguish  which  so  mean  a  nature  was  capable  of  feel- 
mg  ;  for  it  suddenly  occurred  to  him  that  if  he  capitulated 
he  might  never  be  promoted,  and  never  go  to  Congress. 

"  TThat  in  God's  name  shall  I  do  ?"  he  implored. 
"  They've  got  six  thous'n'  men." 

"  Call  the  officers  together,  and  put  it  to  vote." 

"  Well,  you  fetch  'em,  Cap.  I  swear  I'm  too  sick  to 
Stan'  up." 

,Down  he  sat  in  the  dust,  resting  his  elbows  on  his  knees, 
and  his  head  between  his  hands.  Colburne  sought  out 
the  officers,  seven  in  number,  besides  himself,  and  all,  as  it 
chanced.  Lieutenants. 

"  Gentlemen,"  he  said,  "  we  are  dishonored  cowards  if 
we  surrender  this  fort  without  fighting." 


330        Miss    Ra  vex  el's     Coxveesion 

"  Dani' d  if  we  don't  have  the  biggest  kind  of  a  scrim- 
mage first,"  returned  the  Louisianian. 

The  afflicted  Gaza  way  rose  to  receive  them,  opened  the 
communication  of  the  rebel  general,  dropped  it,  picked 
it  up,  and  handed  it  to  Colburne,  saymg,  "  Cap,  you 
read  it." 

It  was  a  polite  summons  to  surrender,  stating  the  in- 
vesting force  at  six  thousand  men,  declaring  that  the  suc- 
cess of  an  assault  was  certam,  offering  to  send  the  garrison 
on  j^arole  to  Xew  Orleans,  and  closing  with  the  hope  that 
the  commandant  of  the  fort  would  avoid  a  useless  effusion 
of  blood. 

"  Xow  them's  what  I  call  han'some  terms,"  broke  in 
Gazaway  eagerly.  "  We  can't  git  no  better  if  we  fight  a 
week.  And  we  can't  fight  a  day.  We  hain't  got  the  men 
to  whip  six  thous'n'  Texans.  I  go  for  takin'  terms  while 
we  can  git  'em." 

"  Gentlemen,  I  go  for  fightmg,"  said  Colburne. 

"  That's  me,"  responded  the  Louisiana  lieutenant ;  and 
there  was  an  approving  murmur  from  the  other  officers. 

"  This  fort,"  contmued  our  Captain,  "  is  an  absolute  neces- 
sity to  the  prosecution  of  the  siege  of  Port  Hudson.  If  it 
is  lost,  the  navigation  of  the  river  is  interru23ted,  and  our 
army  is  cut  off  from  its  suj^plies.  If  we  surrender,  we 
make  the  whole  campaign  a  failure.  We  must  not  do  it. 
We  never  shall  be  able  to  face  our  comrades  after  it ;  we 
never  shall  be  able  to  look  loyal  man  or  rebel  in  the  eye. 
We  can  defend  ourselves.  General  Banks  has  been  re- 
pulsed twice  from  inferior  works.  It  is  an  easy  chance  to 
do  a  great  deed — to  deserve  the  thanks  of  the  army  and  the 
whole  country.  Just  consider,  too,  that  if  we  don't  hold 
the  fort,  we  may  be  called  on  some  day  to  storm  it.  Which 
is  the  easiest  ?     Gentlemen,  I  say,  Xo  surrender  !" 

Every  officer  but  Gazaway  answered,  "  That's  my  vote." 
The  Louisiana  Lieutenant  fingered  his  revolver  threaten- 
ingly, and  swore  by  all  that  was  holy  or  infernal  that  he 
would  shoot  the  first  man  who  talked   of  cai^itulating. 


FEOii    Secession    to    Loyalty. 


331 


Gazaway's  mouth  had  oi^ened  to  gurgle  a  remonstrance, 
but  at  this  threat  he  remamed  silent  and  gasping  like  a 
stranded  fish. 

"  Well,  Cap,  you  write  an  answer  to  the  cuss,  and  the 
Major  '11  sign  it,"  said  the  Louisianian  to  Colburne,  with  a 
grin  of  humorous  mahgnity.  Our  friend  ran  to  the  office 
of  the  Quartermaster,  and  returned  m  a  minute  with  the 
following  epistle : 

"  Sir :  It  is  my  duty  to  defend  Fort  Wmthrop  to  the 
last  extremity,  and  I  shall  do  it." 

The  signature  which  the  Major  appended  to  this  heroic 
document  was  so  tremulous  and  illegible  that  the  rebel 
general  must  have  thought  that  the  commandant  was 
either  very  illiterate  or  else  a  very  old  gentleman  afflicted 
with  the  palsy. 

Thus  did  the  unhappy  Gazaway  have  greatness  thrust 
upon  him.  He  would  have  been  indignant  had  he  not  been 
so  terrified  ;  he  thought  of  court-martialmg  Colburne  some 
day  for  msubordination,  but  said  nothing  of  it  at  present ; 
he  was  fully  occupied  with  searching  the  fort  for  a  j^lace 
which  promised  shelter  from  shell  ^and  bullet.  The  rest 
of  the  day  he  spent  chiefly  on  the  river  front,  lookmg  up 
and  down  the  stream  m  vaui  for  the  friendly  smoke  of 
gunboats,  and  careful  all  the  while  to  keep  his  head  below 
the  level  of  the  ramparts.  His  trepidation  was  so  apparent 
that  the  common  soldiers  discovered  it,  and  amused  them- 
selves by  slyly  jerkmg  bullets  at  him,  m  order  to  see  him 
jump,  fall  down  and  clap  his  hand  to  the  part  hit  by  the 
harmless  missile.  He  must  have  suspected  the  trick ;  but 
he  did  not  threaten  vengeance  nor  even  try  to  discover 
the  jokers:  every  feeble  source  of  manliness  in  him  had 
been  dried  up  by  his  terrors.  He  gave  no  orders,  exacted 
no  obedience,  and  would  have  received  none  had  he  de- 
manded it.  Late  in  the  afternoon,  half  a  dozen  veritable 
rebel  balls  whistling  over  the  fort  sent  him  cowering  into 
the  room  occupied  by  Mrs.  Carter,  where  he  appropriated 
a  blanket  and  stretched  hunself  at  full  length  on  the  floor. 


332  Miss    Raven  el  s     Conyeesion 

fairly  grovelling  and  flattening  in  search  of  safety.  It  was 
a  case  of  cowardice  which  bordered  upon  mania  or  physical 
disease.  He  had  just  manliness  enough  to  feel  a  little 
ashamed  of  himself,  and  mutter  to  Mrs.  Carter  that  he  was 
"  too  sick  to  Stan'  up."  Even  she,  novel  as  she  was  to  the 
situation,  understood  him,  after  a  little  study ;  and  the 
sight  of  his  degrading  alarm,  instead  of  striking  her  with 
a  panic,  roused  her  pride. and  her  courage.  With  what  an 
admiring  contrast  of  feeling  she  looked  at  the  brave  Col- 
burne  and  thought  of  her  brave  husband  I 

The  last  ravs  of  the  settiuGj  sun  showed  no  sio-n  of  an 
enemy  except  the  wide  thin  semich'cle  of  rebel  pickets, 
quiet  but  watchful,  which  stretched  across  the  bayou  from 
the  river  above  to  the  river  below.  As  night  deepened, 
the  vigilance  of  the  garrison  ui creased,  and  not  only  the 
sentmels  but  every  soldier  was  behmd  the  ramparts,  each 
officer  remaining  in  rear  of  his  own  comj^any  or  platoon, 
ready  to  direct  it  and  lead  it  at  the  first  alarm.  Colburne, 
who  was  tacitly  recognized  as  commander-in-chief,  made 
the  rounds  every  hour.  About  midnight  a  murmur  of 
joy  ran  from  bastion  to  bastion  as  the  news  spread  that 
two  steamers  were  close  at  hand,  coming  up  the  river. 
Presently  every  one  could  see  their  engme-fires  glowing 
like  fireflies  in  the  distant,  and  hear  through  the  breathless 
night  the  sighmg  of  the  steam,  the  moaning  of  the  ma 
chmery,  and  at  last  the  swash  of  water  agamst  the  bows. 
The  low,  black  hulks,  and  short,  delicate  masts,  distinctly 
visible  on  the  gleaming  groundwork  of  the  river,  and 
against  the  faintly  lighted  horizon,  showed  that  they  were 
gunboats ;  and  the  metallic  rattle  of  their  cables,  as  they 
came  to  anchor  opposite  the  fort,  proved  that  they  had  ar- 
rived to  take  part  in  the  approaching  struggle.  Even 
Gazaway  crawled  out  of  his  asylum  to  look  at  the  cheermg 
reinforcement,  and  assumed  somethmg  of  his  native  pom- 
posity as  he  observed  to  Colburne,  "  Cap,  they  won't  dare 
to  pitch  into  us,  with  them  fellers  alongside." 

A  bullet  or  two  from  the  rebel  sharj^shooters  posted  on 


Feo:si    Secession    to    Loyalty.         333 

the  southern  side  of  the  bayou  sent  him  back  to  his  house 
of  refuge.  He  thought  the  assault  Avas  about  to  commence, 
and  was  entirely  absorbed  in  hearkening  for  its  opening 
clamor.  "When  Mrs.  Carter  asked  him  what  was  oroino- 
on,  he  made  her  no  answer.  He  was  listening  with  all  his 
pores ;  his  very  hair  stood  on  end  to  listen.  Presently  he 
stretched  himself  upon  the  floor  in  an  mstinctive  effort  to 
escape  a  spattering  of  musketry  which  broke  through  the 
sultry  stillness  of  the  night.  A  black  sjDCck  had  slid  around 
the  stern  of  one  of  the  gunboats,  and  was  making  for  the 
bank,  saluted  by  quick  spittings  of  fire  from  the  levee 
above  and  below  the  junction  of  the  bayou  with  the  river. 
In  reply,  similar  fiery  spittings  scintillated  from  the  dark 
mass  of  the  fort,  and  there  was  a  rapid  ichit-ivhit  of  in- 
visible missiles.  A  cutter  was  coming  ashore ;  the  rebel 
pickets  were  firing  upon  it ;  the  garrison  was  firing  upon 
the  pickets  ;  the  pickets  upon  the  garrison.  The  red  flashes 
and  irregular  rattle  lasted  until  the  cutter  had  completed 
its  return  voyage.  There  was  an  understanding  now  be- 
tween the  little  navy  and  the  little  army ;  the  gunboats 
knew  where  to  direct  their  cannonade  so  as  best  to  sup- 
port the  garrison ;  and  the  soldiers  were  full  of  confidence, 
although  they  did  not  relax  their  vigilance.  Doctor  Rav- 
enel  and  Mrs.  Carter  supposed  in  their  civilian  inexperience 
that  all  danger  was  over,  and  by  two  o'clock  in  the  morn- 
ing were  fast  asleep. 


CHAPTER  XXiy. 

.  A  DESPEEATE    ATTACK   AXD  A    SUCCESSFUL   DEFENCE. 

While  it  was  still  darkness  Lillie  was  awakened 
from  her  sleep  by  an  all-pervading,  startling,  savage  up- 
roar. Through  the  hot  night  came  tramplings  and  yell- 
ings  of  a  rebel  brigade  ;  roarmg  of  twenty-four-pounders 
and  whirring  of  grape  from  the  bastions  of  the  fort ;  roar- 
mg of  hundred-pounders  and  flight  of  shrieking,  cracking. 


334         Miss    Ravexel's     Cox  vers  ion 

flashing  shells  from  the  gunboats ;  incessant  spattering 
and  fiery  spitting  of  musketry,  with  whistling  and  hum- 
ming of  bullets ;  and,  constant  through  all,  the  demoniac 
yell  advancuig  like  the  howl  of  an  infernal  tide.  Bedlam, 
pandemonium,  all  the  maniacs  of  earth  and  all  the  fiends 
of  hell,  seemed  to  have  combined  in  riot  amidst  the  crash- 
insis  of  storm  and  volcano.  The  clamor  came  with  the 
suddenness  and  continued  with  more  than  the  rage  of  a 
tornado.  Lillie  had  never  imagined  anything  so  unearthly 
and  horrible.  She  called  loudly  for  her  father,  and  was 
positively  astonished  to  hear  his  voice  close  at  her  side,  so 
strangely  did  the  familiar  tones  sound  in  that  brutal  up- 
roar. 

"  What  is  it  ?"  she  asked. 

"It  must  be  the  assault,"  he  replied,  astonished  into 
telling  the  alarming  truth.  "  I  will  step  out  and  take  a 
look." 

"  You  shall  not,"  she  exclaimed,  clutching  him.  "  What 
if  you  should  be  hit  I" 

"  My  dear,  don't  be  childish,"  remonstrated  the  Doctor. 
"  It  is  my  duty  to  attend  to  the  wounded.  I  am  the  only 
surgeon  in  the  fort.  Just  consider  the  ingratitude  of 
neglecting  these  brave  fellows  who  are  fighting  for  our 
safety." 

"  Will  you  promise  not  to  get  hurt  ?" 

"  Certainly,  my  dear." 

•'  Will  you  come  back  every  five  minutes  and  let  me 
see  you  ?" 

"  Yes,  my  dear.  I'll  keep  you  informed  of  everything 
that  happens." 

She  thought  a  few  moments,  and  gradually  loosened  her 
hold  on  him.  Her  curiosity,  her  anxiety  to  know  how 
this  terrible  drama  went  on,  helped  her  to  be  brave  and 
to  spare  him.  As  soon  as  her  fingers  had  unclosed  from 
his  sleeve  he  crept  to  where  his  rifle  stood  and  softly, 
siezed  it ;  and  in  so  doing  he  stepped  on  the  recumbent 
Gazaway,  who  groaned,  whereupon  the  Doctor  politely 


From     Secession    to     Loyalty.  335 

apologized.  As  he  stepped  out  of  the  building  he  distin- 
guished Colburne's  voice  on  the  river  front,  shoutincr, 
"  This  ^ay,  men  !"  In  that  direction  ran  the  Doctor,  hold- 
ing his  rifle  in  both  hands,  at  something  like  the  position 
of  a  charge  bayonet,  with  his  thumb  on  the  trigger  so  as 
to  be  ready  for  immediate  conflict.  Suddenly  bang  !  went 
the  piece  at  an  angle  of  forty-five  degrees,  sending  its  ball 
clean  across  the  Mississippi,  and  causing  a  veteran  ser- 
geant near  him  to  inquire  "  what  the  hell  he  was  about." 

"  Really,  that  explosion  was  quite  extraordinary,"   said 
the  surprised  Doctor.     "  I  had  not  the  least  intention  of 
firing.     Would  you,  sir,  have  the  goodness  to  load  it  for , 
me  ?" 

But  the  sergeant  was  in  a  hurry,  and  ran  on  without 
answermg.  The  Doctor  began  to  finger  his  cartridge-box 
in  a  wild  way,  intending  to  get  out  a  cartridge  if  he  could, 
when  a  faint  voice  near  him  said,  "  I'll  load  your  gun  for 
you,  sir." 

"  Would  you  be  so  kind  ?"  replied  the  Doctor,  delighted. 
"I  am  so  dreadfully  inexperienced  in  these  operations! 
I  am  quite  sorry  to  trouble  you." 

The  sick  man — one  of  the  invalids  whom  Gazaway  had 
brought  from  ISTew  Orleans — loaded  the  piece,  capped  it, 
and  added  some  brief  instructions  in  the  mysteries  of  half- 
cock  and  full-cock. 

"  Really  you  are  very  good.  I  am  quite  obliged,"  said 
the  Doctor,  and  hurried  on  to  the  river  front,  guided  by 
the  voice  of  Colburne.  At  the  rampart  he  tried  to  shoot 
one  of  our  men  who  was  coming  up  wounded  from  the 
palisade,  and  would  probably  have  succeeded,  but  that 
the  lock  of  his  gun  would  not  work.  Colburne  stopped 
him  in  this  well-intentioned  but  mistaken  labor,  saying, 
"  Those  are  our  people."  Then,  "  Your  gun  is  at  half-cock. 
— There. — Now  keep  your  finger  ofi"  the  trigger  until  you 
see  a  rebel." 

Then  shouting,  "  Forward,  men  !"  he   ran  down  to  the 


336        Miss    Ravenel's    Conveesion 

palisade  followed  by  twenty  or  thirty,  of  whom  one  was 
the  Doctor. 

The  assailing  brigade,  debouching  from  the  woods  half 
a  mile  away  from  the  front,  had  advanced  in  a  Avide  front 
across  the  flat,  losing  scarcely  any  men  by  the  fire  of  the 
artillery,  although  many,  shaken  by  the  horrible  screech- 
ing of  the  hundred-pound  shells,  threw  themselves  on  the 
ground  in  the  darkness  or  sought  the  frail  shelter  of  the 
scattered  dwellmgs.  Thus  diminished  in  numbers  and 
broken  up  by  night  and  obstacles  and  the  diflermg  speed 
of  running  men,  the  brigade  reached  the  fort,  not  an  or- 
ganization, but  a  confused  swarm,  flowing  along  the  edge 
of  the  ditch  to  right  and  left  in  search  of  an  entrance. 
There  was  a  constant  spattermg  of  flushes,  as  individuals 
returned  the  steady  fire  of  the  garrision ;  and  the  sharp 
clean  whistle  of  round  bullets  and  buckshot  mingled  in  the 
thick  warm  air  with  the  hoarse  whiz  of  Minies.  Now  and 
then  an  angry  shout  or  wailing  scream  indicated  that  some 
one  had  been  hit  and  mangled.  The  exhortations  and 
oaths  of  the  rebel  ofiicers  could  be  distinctly  heard,  as  they 
endeavored  to  restore  order,  to  drive  up  stragglers,  and  to 
urge  the  mass  forward.  A  few  jumped  or  fell  mto  the 
ditch  and  floundered  there,  unable  to  climb  up  the  smooth 
facings  of  brickwork.  Tavo  or  three  hundred  collected 
around  the  palisade  which  connected  the  northern  front  with 
the  river,  some  lying  down  and  waiting,  and  others  firing 
at  the  woodwork  or  the  neighbormg  ramparts,  while  a  few 
determined  ones  tried  to  burst  open  the  gate  by  main 
strength. 

The  Doctor  put  the  whole  length  of  his  barrel  through 
one  of  the  narrow  port  holes  of  the  palisade  and  immediately 
became  aware  that  some  on  the  outside  had  seized  it  and 
was  pullmg  downwards.  "  Let  go  of  my  gun  !"  he  shouted 
instinctively,  without  considering  the  unreasonable  nature 
of  the  request.  "  Let  go  yourself,  you  son  of  a  bitch  !" 
returned  the  outsider,  not  a  whit  more  rational.  The  Doc- 
tor pulled   trigger  with  a  sense  of  just  indignation,  and 


Fko:si     Secession     to     Loyalty.        337 

drew  in  his  gun,  the  barrel  bent  at  a  right  angle  and 
burst ed.  Whether  he  had  injured  the  rebel  or  only  start- 
led him  into  letting  go  his  hold,  he  never  knew  and  did 
not  then  pause  to  consider.  He  felt  his  ruined  weapon 
all  over  with  his  hands,  tried  in  vain  to  draw  the  ramrod, 
and,  after  brmgiug  all  his  philosophical  acumen  to  bear  on 
the  subject,  gave  up  the  idea  of  reloadmg.  Casting  about 
for  a  new  armament,  he  observed  behind  him  a  man  lying 
m  one  of  the  many  little  gullies  which  seemed  to  slope  be- 
tween the  fort  and  the  river,  his  eyes  Avide  open  and  fixed 
upon  the  palisade,  and  his  right  hand  loosely  holding  a  rifle. 
The  Doctor  concluded  that  he  was  sick,  or  tired,  or  seek- 
ing shelter  from  the  bullets. 

"  Would  you  be  good  enough  to  lend  me  your  gun  for 
a  few  moments  ?"  he  inquired. 

The  man  made  no  reply  ;  he  was  perfectly  dead.  The 
Doctor  being  short-sighted  and  without  his  spectacles,  and 
not  accustomed,  as  yet,  to  appreciating  the  eflects  of  mus- 
ketry, did  not  suspect  this  until  he  bent  over  him,  and  saw 
that  his  woolen  shirt  was  soaked  with  blood.  He  picked 
up  the  rifle,  guessed  that  it  was  loaded,  stumbled  back  to 
the  palisade,  insinuated  the  mere  muzzle  into  a  port-hole, 
and  fired,  with  splintering  eflect  on  the  woodwork.  The 
explosion  w^as  followed  by  a  howl  of  anguish  from  the  ex- 
terior, which  gave  him  a  mighty  throb,  partly  of  horror 
and  partly  of  loyal  satisfaction.  "  After  all,  it  is  only  a 
species  of  surgical  operation,"  he  thought,  and  proceeded 
to  reload,  according  to  the  best  of  his  speed  and  knowl- 
edge. Suddenly  he  staggered  under  a  violent  impulse, 
precisely  as  if  a  strong  man  had  jerked  him  by  the  coat- 
collar,  and  putting  his  hand  to  the  spot,  he  found  that  a 
bullet  (nearly  spent  in  penetrating  the  palisades)  had 
punched  its  way  through  the  cloth.  This  was  the  nearest 
approach  to  a  wound  that  he  received  during  the  engage- 
ment. 

Meantime  things  were  going  badly  with  the  assailants. 
Disorganized  by  the  night,  cut  up  by  the  musketry,  de- 
P 


338         Miss    Raven  el's     Coxveksion 

moralized  by  tlie  incessant  screaming  and  bursting  of  the 
one-hundred-pound  shells,  unable  to  force  the  palisade  or 
cross  the  ditch,  they  rapidly  lost  heart,  threw  themselves 
on  the  earth,  took  refuge  behind  the  levees,  dropped  away 
in  squads  through  the  covering  gloom,  and  were,  in  short, 
rej^ulsed.  In  the  course  of  thirty  minutes,  all  that  yelling 
swarm  had  disappeared,  except  the  thickly  scattered  dead 
and  wounded,  and  a  few  well-covered  stragglers,  who  con- 
tinued to  fire  as  sharpshooters. 

"  We  have  whipped  them !"  shouted  Colburne.  "  Hurrah 
for  the  old  flag  !" 

The  garrison  caught  the  impulse  of  enthusiasm,  and 
raised  yell  on  yell  of  triumph.  Even  the  wounded  ceased 
to  feel  their  anguish  for  a  moment,  and  uttered  a  feeble 
shout  or  exclamation  of  gladness.  The  Doctor  bethought 
himself  of  his  daughter,  and  hurried  back  to  the  brick 
building  to  inform  her  of  the  victory.  She  threw  herself 
into  his  arms  with  a  shriek  of  delight,  and  almost  in  the 
same  breath  reproached  him  sharply  for  leaving  her  so  long. 

"  My  dear,  it  can't  be  more  than  five  minutes,"  said  the 
Doctor,  fully  believing  what  he  said,  so  rapidly  does  time 
pass  in  the  excitement  of  successful  battle. 

"  Is  it  really  over  ?"  she  asked. 

"  Quite  so.  They  are  rushing  for  the  woods  like  pelted 
frogs  for  a  puddle.  They  are  going  in  all  directions,  as 
though  they  were  bound  for  Cowes  and  a  market.  I  don't 
believe  they  will  ever  get  together  again.  "We  have 
gained  a  magnificent  victory.  It  is  the  grandest  moment 
of  my  life." 

"  Is  Captain  Colbume  unhurt  ?"  was  Lillie's  next  ques- 
tion. 

"  Perfectly.  We  haven't  lost  a  man — except  one,"  he 
added,  bethinking  himself  of  the  poor  fellow  whose  gun  he 
had  borrowed. 

"  Oh  !"  she  sighed,  with  a  long  inspiration  of  relief,  for 
the  life  of  her  brave  defender  had  become  precious  in  her 
eyes. 


Fkom    Secession    to    Loyalty.       339 

The  Doctor  had  absent-mindedly  brought  his  rifle  into 
the  room,  and  Tras  much  troubled  with  it,  not  caring  to 
shock  Lillie  with  the  fact  that  he  had  been  personally  en- 
gaged. He  held  it  behmd  his  back  with  one  hand,  after 
the  manner  of  a  naughty  boy  who  has  been  nearly  de- 
tected in  breakmg  windows,  and  who  still  has  a  brickbat 
in  his  fist  which  he  dares  not  show,  and  cannot  find  a 
chance  to  hide.  He  was  slyly  settmg  it  against  the  wall 
when  she  discovered  it. 

"  What !"  she  exclaimed.  "  Have  you  been  fighting, 
too  ?     You  dear,  darlmg,  wicked  papa  !" 

She  kissed  him  violently,  and  then  laughed  hysterically. 

"  I  thought  you  were  up  to  some  mischief  all  the  while," 
she  added.  "  You  were  gone  a  dreadful  time,  and  I 
screaming  and  looking  out  for  you.  Papa,  you  ought  to 
be  ashamed  of  yourself" 

"  I  have  reason  to  be.  I  am  the  most  disgraceful  igno- 
ramus. I  don't  know  how  to  load  my  gun.  I  think  I 
must  have  put  the  bullet  in  wrong  end  first.  The  ramrod 
won't  go  down." 

"  Well,  put  it  away  now.  You  don't  want  it  any  more. 
You  must  take  care  of  the  wounded." 

"  Wounded  !"  exclaimed  the  Doctor.  "  Are  there  any 
wounded  ?" 

"  Oh  dear !  several  of  them.  I  forgot  to  tell  you.  They 
are  to  bring  them  m  here.  I  am  going  to  our  trunks  to 
get  some  Imen." 

The  Doctor  was  quite  astonished  to  find  that  there  were 
a  number  of  wounded  ;  for  havmg  escaped  unhurt  himself, 
he  concluded  that  every  one  else  had  been  equally  lucky, 
exceptmg,  of  course,  the  man  who  lay  dead  in  the  gulley. 
As  he  laid  down  his  gun  he  heard  a  groaning  in  one 
corner,  and  went  softly  towards  it,  expecting  to  find  one 
of  the  victims  of  the  conflict.  Lifting  up  one  end  of  a 
blanket,  and  lighting  a  match  to  dispel  the  dimness,  he  be- 
held the  prostrate  Gazaway,  his  face  beaded  with  the  per- 
spiration of  heat  and  terror. 


340         Miss     Ravexel's     Coxversiox 

"Oh  !"  said  the  Doctor,  Avith  perhaps  the  merest  twang 
of  contempt  in  the  exclamation. 

"  My  God,  Doctor !"  groaned  the  Major.  "I  tell  you 
I'm  a  sick  man.  I've  got  the  most  awful  bilious  colic  that 
ever  a  feller  had.  If  you  can  give  me  something,  do,  for 
God's  sake !" 

"  Presently,"  answered  Ravenel,  and  j^aid  no  more  at- 
tention to  him. 

"  If  I  could  have  discharged  my  gun,"  he  afterwards 
said,  in  relatmg  the  circumstance,  "  I  should  have  been 
tempted  to  rid  him  of  his  bilious  colic  by  a  surgical  opera- 
tion." 

The  floor  of  the  little  building  was  soon  cumbered  with 
half  a  dozen  injured  men,  and  dampened  with  their  blood. 
The  Doctor  had  no  instruments,  but  he  could  probe  with 
his  finger  and  dress  with  wet  bandages.  Lillie  aided  him, 
pale  at  the  sight  of  blood  and  suffering,  but  resolute  to  do 
what  she  could.  When  Colburne  looked  in  for  a  moment, 
she  nodded  to  him  with  a  sweet  smile,  which  was  meant 
to  thank  him  for  havmg  defended  her. 

"  I  am  glad  to  see  you  at  this  work,"  he  said.  "  There 
will  be  more  of  it." 

"  AV^hat  !  More  fightmg  !"  exclaimed  the  Doctor,  look- 
ing up  from  a  shattered  finger. 

"  Oh  yes.  We  mustn't  hope  that  they  will  be  satisfied 
w^ith  one  assault.  There  is  a  suj^porting  column,  of  course ; 
and  it  will  come  on  soon.  But  do  you  stay  here,  whatever 
happens.     You  will  be  of  most  use  here." 

He  had  scarcely  disappeared  w-hen  the  w^hole  air  be- 
came horribly  vocal,  as,  with  a  long-drawn,  screaming  bat- 
tle-j^ell,  the  second  brigade  of  Texans  moved  to  the  assault, 
and  the  "  thunders  of  fort  and  fleet  "  replied.  Taking  the 
same  direction  as  before,  but  pushmg  forward  with  superior 
solidity  and  energy,  the  living  wave  swe2;)t  up  to  the  forti- 
fications, howled  along  the  course  of  the  ditch,  and  surged 
clamorously  agamst  the  palisade.  Colburne  was  there 
with  half  the  other  officers  and  half  the  strenofth  of  the 


Feom    Secession    to     Loyalty.       341 

garrison,  silent  for  the  most  part,  but  fighting  desperately. 
Suddenly  there  was  a  shout  of,  "  Back  !  back !  They  are 
coming  round  the  palisade." 

There  was  a  stumblmg  rush  for  the  cover  of  the  fortifica- 
tion 23roper  ;  and  there  the  last  possible  Ime  of  defence  was 
established  instmctively  and  in  a  moment.  Officers  and 
men  dropped  on  their  knees  behind  the  low  bank  of  earth, 
and  continued  an  irregular,  deliberate  fire,  each  discharg- 
ing his  piece  as  fast  as  he  could  load  and  aim.  The  gar- 
rison was  not  sufficient  to  form  a  continuous  rank  along 
even  this  single  front,  and  on  such  portions  of  the  works 
as  were  protected  by  the  ditch,  the  soldiers  were  scattered 
almost  as  sparsely  as  sentinels.  Xothing  saved  the  place 
from  being  carried  by  assault  except  the  fact  that  the  as- 
sailants were  unprovided  with  scaling  ladders.  The  ad- 
venturous fellows  who  had  flanked  the  palisade,  rushed  to 
the  gate,  and  gave  entrance  to  a  torrent  of  tall,  lank  men 
in  butternut  or  dirty  grey  clothing,  their  bronzed  faces 
flushed  with  the  excitement  of  suj^posed  victory,  and  their 
yells  of  exultation  drowning  for  a  minute  the  sharj)  out- 
cries of  the  wounded,  and  the  rattle  of  the  musketry.  But 
the  human  billow  was  met  by  such  a  fatal  discharge  that 
it  could  not  come  over  the  rampart.  The  foremost  dead 
fell  across  it,  and  the  mass  reeled  backward.  Unfortunately 
for  the  attack,  the  exterior  slope  was  full  of  small  knolls 
and  gullies,  beside  being  cumbered  with  rude  shanties,  of 
four  or  five  feet  in  height  made  of  bits  of  board,  and  shelter 
tents,  which  had  served  as  the  quarters  of  the  garrison. 
Behind  these  covers  scores  if  not  hundreds  sought  refuge, 
and  could  not  be  induced  to  leave  them  for  a  second 
charge.  They  commenced  with  musketry,  and  from  that 
moment  the  great  peril  was  over.  The  men  behind  the 
rampart  had  only  to  lie  quiet,  to  shoot  every  one  who. 
approached  or  rose  at  full  length,  and  to  wait  till  daylight 
should  enable  the  gunboats  to  open  with  grape.  In  vam 
the  rebel  officers,  foreseeing  this  danger,  strove  with  voice 
and  example  to  raise  a  yell  and  a  rush.     The  impetuosity 


342         Miss    Ravexel's    Conversion 

of  the  attack  had  died  out,  and  coukl  not  be  brouir-ht  to 
life. 

"  They  don't  like  the  way  it  works,"  laughed  the  Louis- 
iana lieutenant  in  high  glee.  "  They  ain't  on  it  so  much  as 
they  was." 

For  an  hour  the  exchange  of  close  musketry  continued, 
the  strength  of  the  assailants  steadily  decreasing,  as  some 
fell  wounded  or  dead,  and  others  stole  out  of  the  fital  en- 
closure. Daylight  showed  more  than  a  hundred  fallen 
and  nearly  two  hundred  unharmed  men ;  all  lying  or 
crouching  among  the  irregularities  of  that  bloody  and  bul- 
let-torn glacis.  Several  voices  cried  out,  "  Stoj)  firing.  We 
surrender." 

An  officer  m  a  lieutenant-colonel's  uniform  repeated  these 
words,  waving  a  white  handkerchief  Then  rising  from 
his  refuge  he  walked  up  to  the  rampart,  leaped  upon  it, 
and  stared  in  amazement  at  the  thm  line  of  defenders, 
soldiers  and  negroes  intermingled. 

"  By  !     I  won't  surrender  to  such  a  handful,"  he 

exclaimed.     "  Come  on,  boys  !" 

A  sergeant  immediately  shot  him  through  the  breast, 
and  his  body  fell  inside  of  the  works.  Not  a  man  of  those 
whom  he  had  appealed  to  followed  him ;  and  only  a  few 
rose  from  their  covers,  to  crouch  again  as  soon  as  they 
witnessed  his  fate.  The  fire  of  the  gan'ison  reopened  yith 
violence,  and  soon  there  were  new  cries  of,  "  We  surren- 
der," with  a  waving  of  hats  and  handkerchiefs. 

"  What  shall  we  do  ?"  asked  the  Louisiana  lieutenant. 
"  They  are  three  to  our  one.  If  we  let  the  d — n  scoun- 
drels in,  they  will  knock  us  down  and  take  our  guns  away 
from  us." 

Colburne  rose  and  called  out,  "  Do  you  surrender?" 

"Yes,  .yes,"  from  many  voices,  and  a  frantic  agitation  of 
broadbrims. 

"  Then  throw  your  arms  into  the  river." 

First  one,  then  another,  then  several  together  obeyed 
this  order,  until  there  was  a  general  rush  to  the  bank,  and 


Feo:m     Secession     to     Loyalty.        343 

a  prodigious  splashing  of  double-barreled  guns  and  bowie- 
knives  in  the  yellow  water. 

"  Xow  sit  down  and  keep  quiet,"  was  Colburne's  next 
command. 

They  obeyed  with  the  utmost  composure.  Some  filled 
their  pipes  and  fell  to  smokmg  ;  others  produced  corn-cake 
from  their  havresacks  and  breakfasted ;  others  busied  them- 
selves ^^th  proppmg^  tlie  wounded  and  bringing  them 
water.  Quite  a  number  crawled  into  the  deserted  shanties 
and  went  to  sleep,  apparently  worn  out  with  the  night's 
work  and  watching.  A  low  murmur  of  conversation, 
chiefly  concerning  the  events  of  the  assault,  and  not  spe- 
cially gloomy  in  its  tenor,  gradually  mingled  mth  the 
oToans'^of  the  wounded.  When  the  gate  of  the  palisade 
was  closed  upon  them  and  refastened,  they  laughed  a 
little  at  the  idea  of  bemg  shut  up  in  a  pen  like  so  many 
chickens.  * 

"  Trapped,  by  Jimmy  !"  said  one.  "  You  must  excuse 
me  if  I  don't  know  how  to  behave  myself  I  never  was 
cotched  before.  I'm  a  wild  man  of  the  pararies,  I  am."  ^ 
On  all  sides  the  attack  had  failed,  with  heavy  loss  to 
the  assailants.  The  heroic  little  garrison,  scarcely  one 
hundred  and  fifty  strong,  mcludmg  oflicers,  camp-followers 
and  negroes  (all  of  whom  had  fought),  had  captured  more 
than  it's  own  numbers,  and  killed  and  wounded  twice 
its  own  numbers.  The  fragments  of  the  repulsed  brigades 
had  fallen  back  beyond  the  range  of  fire,  and  even  the 
semicircle  of  pickets  had  almost  disappeared  in  the 
woods.  The  prisoners  and  wounded  were  taken  on  board 
the  o;imboats,  and  forwarded  to  New  Orleans  by  the  first 
transport  down  the  river:  As  the  last  of  the  unfortunates 
left  the  shore  Colburne  remarked.  "  I  wonder  if  those  poor 
fellojvs  will  ever  get  tired  of  fightmg  for  an  institution 
which  only  prolongs  their  own  mferiority." 

"  I  am  afraid  not— I  am  afraid  not,"  said  the  Doctor. 
«  Not,  at  least,  until  they  are  whipped  into  reason.  ^  They 
have  been  educated  under  -an  awful  tyranny  of  prejudice, 


344         Miss     Rayexel's     Coxveesion 

conceit,  and  ignorance.  They  are  more  incapable  of  per- 
ceiving their  own  true  interests  than  so  many  brutes.  I 
have  had  the  honor  to  be  acquamted  with  dogs  who  were 
their  superiors  in  that  respect.  In  Tennessee,  on  one  of 
my  excursions,  I  stopi)ed  over  night  in  the  log-cabin  of  a 
farmer.  It  Avas  rather  chilly,  and  I  wanted  to  poke  the 
fire.  There  was  no  poker.  '  Ah,'  said  the  farmer,  '  Bose 
has  run  off  -v^ith  the  poker  again.'  He  went  out  for  a  mo- 
ment, and  came  in  with  the  article.  I  asked  him  if  his  dog 
had  a  fancy  for  pokers.  '  Xo,'  said  he  ;  '  but  one  of  my 
boys  once  burnt  the  critter's  nose  Avith  a  hot  poker ;  and 
ever  since  then  he  hides  it  every  time  that  he  coiSes  across 
it.  We  know  whar  to  find  it.  He  allays  puts  it  under 
the  house  and  kivers  it  up  with  leaves.  It's  curous,'  said 
he,  *  to  watch  him  go  at  it,  snufiing  to  see  if  it  is  hot,  and 
picking  it  up  and  sidlmg  off  as  sly  as  a  horse-thief  He 
has  an  awful  bad  conscience  about  it.  Perhaps  yen  noticed 
that  when  you  asked  for  the  poker,  Bose  he  got  up  and 
travelled.' — Xow,  you  see,  the  dog  knew  what  had  burned 
him.  But  these  poor  besotted  creatures  don't  know  that 
it  is  slavery  which  has  scorched  their  stupid  noses.  They 
have  no  idea  of  getting  rid  of  their  hot  poker.  They  are 
fighting  to  keep  it." 

When  it  had  become  certain  that  the  fighting  was  quite 
over.  Major  Gazaway  reappeared  in  public,  complaining 
much  of  internal  pains,  but  able  to  dictate  and  sigh  a  pom- 
pous ofiicial  report  of  his  victory,  in  which  he  forgot  to 
mention  the  colic  or  the  name  of  Captain  Colburne.  Dur- 
ing the  following  night  the  flare  of  widespread  fires  against 
the  sky  showed  that  the  enemy  were  still  in  the  neighbor- 
hood ;  and  negroes  who  stole  in  from  the  swamps  reported 
that  the  country  was  "  cram  full  o'  rebs,  way  up  beyon' 
Mars  Ravenel's  plantashum." 

"  You  won't  be  able  to  reoccupy  your  house  for  a  long 
time,  I  fear,"  said  Colburne. 

"  il^o,"  sighed  the  Doctor.  "  My  experiment  is  over.  I 
must  get  back  to  Xew  Orleans." 


FKOii    Secessioj^    to    Loyalty.         345 

"  And  I  must  go  to  Port  Hudson,     I  shall  be  forgiven, 
I  presume,  for  not  reporting  back  to  the  hospital." 

Such  ^vas  the  defence  of  Fort  Wmthrop,  one  of  the  most 
gallant  feats  of  the  \var.  Those  days  are  gone  by,  and 
there  will  be  no  more  like  them  forever,  at  least,  not  in  our 
forever.  Xot  very  long  ago,  not  more  than  two  hours 
before  this  ink  dried  upon  tlie  paper,  the  author  of  the  pres- 
ent history  was  sittmg  on  the  edge  of  a  basaltic  cliff  which 
overlooked  a  wide  expanse  of  fertile  earth,  flourishing 
villages,  the  spires  of  a  city,  and,  beyond,  a  shming  sea 
flecked  with  the  full-blown  sails'  of  peace  and  prosperity. 
From  the  face  of  another  basaltic  cliff  two  miles  distant, 
he  saw  a  white  globule  of  smoke  dart  a  little  way  upward, 
and  a  minute  afterwards  heard  a  dull,  deep  jpum  !  of  ex- 
plodmg  gunpowder.  Quarrymen  there  were  blasting  out 
rocks  from  which  to  build  hives  of  industry  and  happy 
family  homes.  But  the  sound  reminded  him  of  the  roar 
of  artillery  ;  of  the  thunder  of  those  signal  guns  which  used 
to  j)resage  battle  ;  of  the  alarums  which  only  a  few  months 
previous  were  a  command  to  him  to  mount  and  ride  into 
the  combat.  Then  he  thought,  almost  with  a  feeling  of 
sadness,  so  strange  is  the  human  heart,  that  he  had  prob- 
ably heard  those  clamors,  uttered  in  mortal  earnest,  for 
the  last  time.  Xever  again,  perhaps,  even  should  he  live 
to  the  age  of  threescore  and  ten,  would  the  shriek  of  grape- 
shot,  and  the  crash  of  shell,  and  the  multitudinous  whiz 
of  musketry  be  a  part  of  his  life.  ^NTevermore  would  he 
hearken  to  that  charging  yell  which  once  had  stirred  his 
blood  more  fiercely  than  the  sound  of  trumpets  :  the  South- 
ern battle-yell,  full  of  howls  and  yelpmgs  as  of  brute 
beasts  rushing  hilariously  to  the  fray :  the  long-sustained 
Xorthern  yell,  all  human,  but  none  the  less  relentless  and 
stern  ;  nevermore  the  one  nor  the  other.  Xo  more  charges 
of  cavalry,  rushing  through  the  dust  of  the  distance  ;  no 
more  answering  smoke  of  musketry,  veiling  unshaken 
lines  and  squares  ;  no  more  colmnns  of  smoke,  piling  high 
above  deafening  batteries.  Xo  more  groans  of  wounded, 
P2 


346  Miss    Raven  el's     Conveesion 

nor  sliouts  of  victors  over  i)ositions  carried  and  banners 
captured,  nor  reports  of  triumphs  which  saved  a  nation 
from  disappearing  off  the  face  of  the  eartli.  After  thinking 
of  these  tlmigs  for  an  hour  together,  ahnost  sadly,  as  I 
have  said,  he  walked  back  to  his  home ;  and  read  with  in- 
terest a  paper  which  prattled  of  to-s\Ti  elections,  and  adver- 
tised corner-lots  for  sale  ;  and  decided  to  make  a  kid-gloved 
call  in  the  evening,  and  to  go  to  church  on  the  morrow. 


CHAPTER  XXV. 

DOMESTIC     HAPPIXESS,      IX      SPITE      OF     ADVEKSE     CIKCUM- 
STAXCES. 

Whex  Colburne  reached  Port  Hudson,  it  had  capitu- 
lated ;  the  stars  and  stripes  were  flying  in  place  of  the  stars 
and  bars.  With  a  smile  of  triumph  he  climbed  the  steep 
path  which  zig-zagged  up  the  almost  precipitous  breast — 
earth  changing  into  stone — of  the  gigantic  bluff  which 

formed  the  river  front  of  the  fortress.     At  the  summit  was 

» 

a  plateau  of  nearly  three-quarters  of  a  mile  in  diameter, 
verdant  with  turf  and  groves,  and  pleasantly  rolling  in 
surface.  He  had  never  been  here  before ;  he  and  twelve 
thousand  others  had  tried  to  come  here  on  the  27th  of 
May,  but  had  failed ;  and  he  paused  to  take  a  long  look  at 
the  spot  and  its  surroundings.  ISTot  a  sign  of  fortification 
w^as  visible,  except  five  or  six  small  semi-lunes  of  earth  at 
difierent  points  along  the  edge  of  the  bluff,  behind  which 
were  mounted  as  many  monstrous  guns,  some  smooth-bore, 
some  rifled.  Solid  shot  from  these  giants  had  sunk  the 
Mississippi,  and  crippled  all  of  Farragut's  fleet  but  two  in 
his  audacious  rush  up  the  river.  Shells  from  them  had 
flown  clean  over  the  bluff,  and  sought  out  the  farthest 
camps  of  Banks's  army,  burstmg  with  a  sonorous,  hollow 
thimder  which  seemed  to  shake  earth  and  atmosphere.  On 
the  land  side  the  longj  lines  of  earthworks  wliich  had  so 


From     Secession    to     Loyalty.         347 

steadily  and  bloodily  repulsed  our  columns  were  all  below 
the  line  of  sight,  hidden  by  the  undulations  of  the  ground, 
or  by  the  forest.  The  turf  was  torn  and  pitted  by  the 
bombardments  ;  two-hundred-pound  shells,  thrown  by  the 
long  rifles  of  the  fleet,  lay  here  and  there,  some  m  fragments, 
some  unexploded ;  the  church,  the  store,  and  half  a  dozen 
houses,  which  constituted  the  village,  Avere  more  or  less 
shattered.  The  bullets  of  the  Union  sharpshooters  had 
reached  as  far  as  here,  and  had  even  gone  quite  over  and 
fallen  into  the  Mississippi.  A  gaunt,  dirty  woman  told 
Colburne  that  on  the  spot  where  he  stood  a  soldier  of  the 
garrison'  had  been  killed  by  a  chance  rifle-ball  while  drink- 
ing a  glass  of  beer.  Leaving*his  cicerone,  he  joined  a 
j)arty  of  officers  who  were  lounging  in  the  shade  of  a 
tree,  and  inquired  for  the  residence  of  Colonel  Carter. 

"  Here  you  are,"  ansAvered  a  lieutenant,  pointing  to 
the  nearest  house.  "  Can  I  do  any  thing  for  you,  Captam  ? 
I  am  his  aid.  I  wouldn't  advise  you  to  call  on  him  un- 
less you  have  something  very  particular  to  say.  Every 
body  has  been  celebratmg  the  surrender,  and  the  Colonel 
isn't  exactly  ui  a  state  for  business." 

Colburne  hesitated ;  but  he  had  letters  from  Carter's 
wife  and  father-in-law,  and  of  course  he  must  see  him, 
drunk  or  sober.  At  that  moment  he  heafd  a  voice  that 
he  recognized ;  a  voice  that  had  demanded  and  obtained 
what  he  had  not  dared  to  ask  for — a  voice  that,  as  he 
well  knew,  she  longed  for  as  the  sweetest  of  earth's  music. 

"  Hi !  hi !"  said  the  Colonel,  making  his  appearance  upon 
the  unpainted,  war^oed,  paralytic  *rerandah  of  his  dwell- 
ing. Through  the  low-cut  window  from  which  he  issued 
could  be  seen  a  sloppy  table,  with  bottles  and  glasses,  and 
the  laughing  faces  of  two  bold-browed,  slatternly  girls, 
the  one  seventeen,  the  other  twenty.  He  had  on  an  old 
dressing-gown,  fastened  around  Ms  waist  with  a  sword- 
belt,  and  his  trousers  hung  loose  about  the  heels  of  a  pair 
of  dii'ty  slippers.  His  face  was  flushed  and  his  eyes  blood- 
shot ;  he  was  winliing,  leering,    and    slightly    unsteady. 


348         Miss     R  a  v  e  x  e  l  '  s     C  o  x  v  e  e  s  i  o  x 

Colburne  slunk  behind  a  tree,  humiliated  for  his  sake,  and 
ready  to  rave  or  weep  as  he  thought  of  the  young  wife 
to  whom  this  man's  mere  name  was  a  comfort. 

"  Hi !  hi !"  repeated  Carter.  "  Where  are  all  these 
fellows?" 

The  aid  advanced  and  saluted.  "  Do  you  want  any  one, 
Colonel  ?" 

"  Xo,  no.  Don't  want  any  one.  What  for  ?  Celebrate 
it  alone.    Man  enough  for  it." 

Presently  catching  the  eve  of  another  officer,  he  again 
chuckled,  "Hi!  hi!" 

The  person  thus  addressed  approached  and  saluted. 

"  I  say,"  observed  the  Cfolonel,  "  I  got  letters  last  night 
addressed  General  Carter — Brigadier-General  John  T. 
Carter.     What  do  you  think  of  that  ?" 

"  I  hope  it  means  j^romotion,"  said  the  officer.  "  Colonel, 
do  you  think  we  shall  go  into  quarters  ?" 

"  No,  no  ;  no  go  into  quarters ;  no  go  into  quarters 
for  us.  Played  out — quarters.  In  ole,  ole  times,  after 
fought  a  big  battle,  used  to  stop — look  out  good  quarters, 
and  stop.     But  now  nix  curn  rouse  the  stop." 

Back  he  reeled  through  the  window,  to  sit  down  to  his 
whiskey  and  water,  amidst  the  laughter  and  rather  scorn- 
ful blandishmeuts  of  the  Secession  lasses. 

Nevertheless  I  must  see  him,  decided  Colburne.  "  Ask 
Colonel  Carter,"  he  said  to  an  orderly,  "if  he  can  re- 
ceive Captain  Colburne,  who  brings  letters  and  messages 
from  Mrs.  Carter." 

In  a  minute  the  man  /etumed,  saluted  and  said,  "  The 
Colonel  sends  his  compliments  and  asks  you  to  walk  in, 
sii'." 

When  Colburne  entered  Carter's  presence  he  found  him 
somewhat  sobered  in  manner ;  and  although  the  bottles 
and  glasses  were  still  on  the  table,  the  bold-faced  girls  had 
disappeared. 

"  Captain,  sit  down.     Take  glass  plain  whiskey,"  were 


FEOii    Secession    to    Loyalty. 


349 


the  Colonel's  first  words.  "  Good  for  your  arm— good  for 
every  thing.     Glad  you  got  off  without  a— cut-off " 

He  would  have  used  the  word  amputation,  only  he 
knew  that  his  tongue  could  not  manage  it. 

"  Thank  you,  Colonel.  Here  are  two  letters,  sir,  from 
Mrs.  Carter  and  the  Doctor.  Just  as  I  was  leaving,  when 
it  was  too  lateto  write,  Mrs.  Carter  charged  me  to  say  to 
you  that  her  father  had  decided  to  go  at  once  to  Xew 
Orleans,  so  that  your  letters  must  be  directed  to  her 
there." 

"  I  understand,"  answered  Carter  slowly  and  ^dth  the 
solemnity  of  enfi)rced  sobriety.     "Thank  you." 

He  broke  open  his  wife's  letter  and  glanced  hurriedly 
through  it. 

"  Captain,  I'm  'bliged  to  you,"  he  said.  «  You've  saved 
my  wife  from  im-prisn— ment.  She's  'bliged  to  you. 
You're  noble  fellah.  I  charge  myself  with  your  pro— 
mosh'n." 

It  was  so  painful  to  see  him  struggle  in  that  humiliating 
manner  to  appear  sober,  that  Colburne  cut  short  the  inter- 
view by  pretexting  a  necessity  of  reporting  immediately 
to  his  regiment. 

"Come  to-morrow,"  said  Carter.  "All  right  to-morrow. 
Business  to-morrow.     To-day — celebrash'n." 

The  Colonel,  although  not  aware  of  the  fact,  was  far  ad- 
vanced m  the  way  of  the  drunkard.  He  had  long  smce 
passed  the  period  when  it  was  necessary  to  stimulate  his 
appetite  for  si^irituous  liquors  by  sugar,  lemon-peel,  bitters 
and  other  condiments.  He  had  lived  through  the  era  of 
fancy  drinks,  and  entered  the  cycle  of  confirmed  plam 
whiskey.  At  the  ^S'ew  Orleans  bars  he  did  not  call  for-the 
fascinating  mixtures  for  which  those  establishments  are 
famous;  he  ran  his  mind's  eye  wearily  over  the  milk- 
punches,  claret -punches,  sherry-cobblers,  apple -toddies, 
torn  -  and -jernes,  brandy -slmgs,  and  gm  -  cocktails  ;  then 
said  in  a  slightly  hoarse  hasso  profondo,  "  Give  me  sorue 
plain  whiskey."     He  had  swallowed  a  great  deal  of  strong 


350        Miss    Ravexel's    Conversion 

drink  during  the  siege,  and  since  the  surrender  he  had  not 
known  a  sober  Arakiiig  moment.     His  appetite  was  poor, 
especially  at  breakfast.     His  face  was  constantly  flushed, 
his  body  had  an  api>earance  of  being  bloated,  and  his  hands 
were   tremulous.      Xevertheless,  obedient  to   a  delusion 
common  to  men  of  his  habits,  he  did  not  consider  himself 
a  hard  drmker.     He  acknowledged  that  he  ^t  intoxicated 
at  times  and  thoroughly,  but  he  thought  not  more   fre- 
quently or  thoroughly  than  the  average  of  good  fellows. 
He  was  kept  in  countenance  by  a  great  host  of  comrade 
inebriates  in  the  old  service  and  in  the  new,  in  the  navy 
as  well  as  in  the  army,  in  high  civilian  position  and  at  the 
front,  in  short  throughout  almost  every  grade  and  class  of 
American  society.     He  could  point  to  men  whose  talents 
and  public  virtues  the  nation  honors,  and  say,   "  They  get 
as  drunk  as  I  do,  and  as  often."      He  could  point  to  such 
cases  on  this  side  of  the  water  and  on  the  other.     Does 
anybody  remember  the  orgies  of  the  liri  clari  et  venera- 
hili,  who  gathered  at  Boston  to  celebrate  the  obsequies 
of  John  Quincy  Adams,  and  at  Charleston  to  lament   over 
the  remains  of  John  C.  Calhonfi  ?     Does  anybody  remem- 
ber the  dinner  speeches  on  board  of  Sir  Charles  Xapier's 
flagship,  just  before  the  Baltic  fleet  set  out  for  Cronstadt  ? 
Latterly  this  vice  has  increased  upon  us  in  America,  thanks 
to  the  reaction  agamst  the  Maine  liquor  law,  thanks  to  the 
war.     Perhaps  it  is  for  the  best ;  perhaps  it  is  a  good  thing 
that  hundreds  of  leading  Americans  and  hundreds  of  thou- 
sands of  led  Americans  should  be  drunkards ;  it  may  be, 
in  some  incomprehensible  manner,  for  the  interest  of  hu- 
manity.    To  my  unenlightened  mmd  the  contrary  seems 
provable ;  but  I  am  liable  to  error,  and  sober  at  this  mo- 
ment of  writmg  :  a  pint  of  whiskey  might  illuminate  me  to 
see  behind  the  veil.     It  is  wonderful  to  me,  a  member  of 
the  ofuzzlins:  Ang^lo-Saxon  race,  that  the  abstemious  Latm 
nations  have  not  yet  got  the  better  of  us.    Nothing  can 
account  for  it,  unless  it  is  that  spiritual,   and  intellectual, 
and  political  tyranny  more  than  counterbalance  the  advant- 


Feom    Secession    to    Loyalty-.         351 

ages  of  temperance.  Booziiig  John  Bull  and  Jonathan 
have  kept  an  upper  hand  because  then-  geographical  con- 
ditions have  enabled  them  to  remain  free ;  and  on  their 
impregnable  islands  and  separated  quarters  of  the  globe 
they  have  besotted  themselves  for  centuries  with  political 
impunity. 

Xext  day,  as  Carter  had  promised,  he  was  able  to  at- 
tend to  business.  His  first  act  was  to  issue  an  order  as- 
signing Captain  Colburne  to  his  staff  as  "  Acting  Assistant 
Adjutant-General,  to  be  obeyed  and  respected  accord- 
ingly." When  the  young  officer  reported  for  duty  he 
found  the  Colonel  sober,  but  stern  and  gloomy  with  the 
woful  struggle  against  his  maniacal  appetite,  and  shaky 
in  body  ^"ith  the  result  of  the  bygone  debauch. 

"  Captain,"  said  he,  "  I  wish  you  would  do  me  the  favor 
to  join  my  mess.  I  want  a  temperance  man.  Xo  more 
whiskey  for  one  while  !  —  By  the  way,  I  owe  you  so 
much  I  never  can  repay  you  for  saving  my  wife  from  those 
savages.  If  admiration  is  any  reward,  you  have  it.  My 
wife  and  her  father  both  overflow  ^"ith  your  praises." 

Colburne  bowed  and  replied  that  he  had  done  no  more 
than  his  duty  as  an  officer  and  a  gentleman. 

"  I  am  glad  it  was  you  who  did  it,"  rejDlied  the  Colonel. 
"  I  don't  know  any  other  person  to  whom  I  would  so  will- 
ingly be  under  such  an  obligation." 

It  was  certainly  rather  handsome  in  Carter  that  he  should 
cheerfully  permit  his  wife  to  feel  admiration  and  gratitude 
towards  so  handsome  a  young  man  as  Colburne. 

"  That  infernal  poltroon  of  a  Gazaway  !"  he  broke  out 
presently.  "  I  ought  to  have  cashiered  him  long  ago.  I'll 
have  him  court-martialed  and  shot.  By  the  way,  he  was 
perfectly  well  when  you  saw  him,  wasn't  he  ?" 

"  I  should  think  so.  He  loolied  like  a  champion  of  the 
heavy  weights.  The  mere  reflection  of  his  biceps  was 
enough  to  break  a  looking-glass." 

"  I  thought  he  had  run  away  from  the  service  altogether. 
He  came  up  to  the  regiment  once  during  the  siege.     The 


352        Miss    Ravexel's     Conversion 

officers  kicked  him  out,  and  he  disappeared.  Got  in  at 
some  hospital,  it  seems — By  (tliis  and  that)  three  quarters 
of  the  hospitals  are  a  disgrace  to  the  service.  They  are 
asylums  for  shirks  and  cowards.  I  wish  you  wouhl  make 
it  your  first  husmess  to  inform  yourself  of  all  Gazaway's 
sneakings — misbehavior  in  presence  of  the  enemy,  you  un- 
derstand— violation  of  the  fifty-second  article  of  war — and 
draw  up  charges  against  him.  I  want  charges  that  A^'ill 
shoot  him." 

Here  I  may  as  well  anticipate  the  history  of  the  Major. 
When  the  charges  against  him  were  forwarded,  he  got 
wind  of  them,  and,  malting  a  personal  appeal  to  high  au- 
thority, pleaded  hard  for  leave  to  resign  on  a  surgeon's 
certificate  of  physical  disability.  The  request  was  granted 
for  some  mysterious  reason,  probably  of  political  origin  ; 
and  this  vulgar  poltroon  left  the  army,  and  the  department 
with  no  oflicial  stigma  on  his  character.  On  reaching 
Barataria  he  appealed  to  his  faithful  old  herd  of  followers 
and  assailed  Colonel  Carter  and  Caj^tain  Colburne  as  a 
couple  of  aristocrats  who  would  not  let  a  working  man 
hold  a  commission. 

Two  days  subsequent  to  Colburne's  arrival  at  Port 
Hudson  the  brigade  sailed  to  Fort  Winthrop  and  from 
thence  followed  the  trail  of  the  retreating  Texans  as  far  as 
Thibodeaux,  where  Carter  established  his  head-quarters. 
A  week  later,  Avhen  the  rebels  were  all  across  the  Atcha- 
falaya  and  quiet  once  more  prevailed  in  the  Lafourche  In- 
terieur,  he  sent  toXew  Orleans  for  his  wife,  and  established 
her  in  a  pretty  cottage,  with  orange  trees  and  a  garden,  in 
the  outskirts  of  the  little  French  American  city.  The 
Doctor's  plantation  house  had  been  burned,  his  agricultural 
implements  destroyed,  and  his  cattle  eaten  or  driven  away 
by  the  rebels,  who  put  a  devout  zeal  into  the  task  of  lay- 
ing waste  every  spot  which  had  been  desecrated  by  the 
labor  of  manumitted  bondsmen.  His  grand  exi^eriment 
of  reorganizing  southern  industry  being  thus  knocked  on 
the  head,  he  had  applied  for  and  obtained  his  old  position 


From    Secession    to    Loyalty.  353 

in  the  liospital.     Lillie  wept  at  parting  from  him,  but  never- 
theless flew  to  live  with  her  husband. 

The  months  which  she  passed  at  Thibodeaux  were  the 
happiest  that  she  had  ever  known.  The  Colonel  did  not 
drink ;  was  Avith  her  every  moment  that  he  could  spare 
from  his  duties ;  was  strongly  loving  and  ncfisily  cheer- 
ful, like  a  doting  dragoon  as  he  was ;  abounded  with 
attentions  and  presents,  bouquets  from  the  garden,  and 
dresses  from  New  Orleans ;  was  uneasy  to  make  her 
comfortable,  and  exhibit  his  affection.  The  whole  brigade 
knew  her,  and  delighted  to  look  at  her,  drilling  badly  in 
consequence  of  inattention  when  she  cantered  by  on  horse- 
back. The  sentinels,  when  not  watched  by  the  lieutenant 
of  the  guard,  gratified  themselves  and  amused  her  with  the 
courteous  pleasantry  of  presenting  arms  as  she  passed. 
Such  officers  as  were  aristocratic  enough  or  otherwise  for- 
tunate enough  to  obtain  a  bowing  acquaintance,  still  more 
to  be  invited  to  her  receptions  and  dinner  parties,  flattered 
her  by  their  evident  admiration  and  devotion.  A  second 
lieutenant  who  once  had  a  chance  to  shorten  her  stirrup 
leather,  alluded  to  it  vain-gloriously  for  weeks  afterward, 
and  received  the  nickname  from  his  envious  comrades 
of "  Acting  Assistant  Flunkey  General,  Second  Brigade, 
First  Division,  Nmeteenth  Army  Corps."  It  made  no 
difference  with  the  happy  youth ;  he  had  shortened  the 
stirrup  of  the  bemg  who  was  every  body's  admiration  ; 
and  from  his  pedestal  of  good  fortune  he  smiled  serenely 
at  detraction.  Lillie  was  the  queen,  the  goddess,  the  only 
queen  and  goddess,  of»the  Lafourche  Interieur.  Li  the 
whole  district  there  was  no  other  lady,  except  the  wives 
of  two  captains,  who  occupied  a^  much  lower  heaven, 
and  some  bitter  Secessionists,  who  kept  aloof  from  the 
army,  and  were  besides  wofully  scant  in  their  graces  and 
wardrobe.  The  adulation  which  she  received  did  not  come 
from  the  highest  human  source,  but  it  was  unmixed,  un- 
shared, whole-souled,  constant.  She  thought  it  was  the 
most  delightful  thing  conceivable  to  keep  house,  to  be  mar- 


354        Miss    R  a  vex  el's     Cox  version 

ried,  to  be  tlie  wife  of  Colonel  Carter.  If  she  had  been 
twenty-iive  or  thirty  years  old,  a  veteran  of  society,  I 
should  be  inclmed  to  laiio-h  at  her  for  the  child-like  pleas- 
ure she  took  in  her  conditions  and  surroundings ;  but  only 
twenty,  hardly  ever  at  a  party,  married  without  a  wed- 
ding, mari-ied  less  than  six  months,  I  sympathise  T\'ith  her, 
rejoice  with  her,  in  her  unaccustomed  intoxication  of  hap-' 
pmess.  It  was  curious  to  see  how  slowly  she  got  accus- 
tomed to  her  husband.  For  some  time  it  seemed  to  her 
amazmg  and  almost  incredible  that  any  man  should  call 
himself  by  such  a  title,  and  claim  the  familiarity  and  the 
rights  which  it  implied.  She  frequently  blushed  at  en- 
countering him,  as  if  he  were  still  a  lover.  If  she  met  the 
bold  gaze  of  his  wide-open  brown  eyes,  she  trembled  with- 
an  inward  thrill,  and  wanted  to  say,  "  Please  don't  look  at 
me  so  !"  He  could  tyrannize  over  her  with  his  eyes  ;  he 
could  make  her  come  to  him  and  try  to  hide  from  them  by 
nestling  her  head  on  his  shoulder  ;  he  used  to  wonder  at 
his  power,  and  gratify  liis  vanity  as  well  as  his  affection 
by  using  it. 

An  officer  of  the  staff,  who  believed  in  the  marvels 
of  the  so-called  psychologists,  observed  the  emotion  awak- 
ened in  the  wife  by  the  husband's  gaze,  and  mentioned  it 
to  Colburne  as  a  proof  of  the  actuality  of  magnetico-spiri- 
tualistic  influence.  The  Captain  was  not  convinced,  and 
felt  a  strong  desire  to  box  the  oflicer's  ears.  What -right 
had  the  fellow  to  make  the  movements  and  inclinations  of 
that  woman's  soul  an  object  of  curiosity  and  a  topic  of 
conversation?  He  oflercd  no  re^ly  to  the  remark,  and 
glared  m  a  way  which  astonished  the  other,  who  had  the 
want  of  delicacy  common  to  men  of  one  idea.  Colburne 
divmed  Mrs.  Carter  too  well  to  adopt  the  magnetic  theory. 
Judging  her  nature  out  of  the  depths  of  his  own,  he  be- 
lieved that  love  was  the  true  and  all-sufficient  explanation 
of  her  nervousness  under  the  gaze  of  her  husband.  It  was 
a  painful  belief:  firstly,  for  the  very  natural  reason  that 
he  was  not  himself  the  cause  of  the  emotion ;  secondly,  be- 


From    Secession    to    Loyaltt.        355 

cause  he  feared  that  the  Colonel  might  be  a  blight  to  the 
delicate  aftection  which  clasped  him  with  its  tendrils. 

His  relations  with  both  were  the  most  familiar,  the 
frankest,  the  kmdest.  \yhen  Carter  could  not  ride  out 
with  his  wife,  he  detailed  Colburne  for  the  agreeable  duty. 
When  Mrs.  Carter  made  a  visit  to  headquarters,  and  did 
not  find  the  Colonel  there,  she  asked  for  the  adjutant-gen- 
eral. The  friend  sent  the  lady  bouquets  by  the  hands  of 
the  husband.  Carter  knew  to  some  extent  how  Colburne 
adored  Lillie,  but  he  had  a  fine  confidence  in  the  purity 
and  humility  of  the  adoration,  and  he  trusted  her  to  him 
as  he  would  have  trusted  her  to  her  father.  The  Captain 
was  not  a  member  of  the  family :  the  cottage  was  too  far 
from  his  ofiicial  duties  to  allow  of  that ;  but  he  dined  there 
every  Sunday,  and  called  there  every  other  evenmg.  Rav- 
onel's  letters  to  one  or  the  other,  were  the  common  prop- 
erty of  both.  If  Lillie  did  not  hear  from  her  father  twice 
a  Aveek,  and  therefore  became  anxious  about  him,  because 
it  was  the  yellow  fever  season,  or  because  of  the  broad 
fiict  that  man  is  mortal,  she  applied  to  Colburne  as  well  as 
'to  her  husband  for  comforting  suggestions  and  assurances. 
In  company  ^vith  some  chance  fourth,  these  three  had  the 
gayest  evenings  of  whist  and  euchre.  Lillie  never  looked 
at  her  cards  without  excitmg  the  laughter  of  the  two  men, 
by  declarmg  that  she  hadn't  a  thing  in  her  hand — posi- 
tively not  a  single  thing — couldn't  take  a  trick — not  one. 
She  talked  perpetually,  told  what  honors  she  held,  stole 
glances  at  her  opponent's  hand,  screamed  with  delight 
when  she  won,  and  in  short  violated  all  the  venerable  rules 
of  whist.  She  forgot  the  run  of  the  cards,  trumped  her 
partner's  trick,  led  diamonds  when  he  had  trashed  on 
hearts,  led  the  queen  when  she  held  ace  and  kmg.  To  her 
trumps  she  held  on  firmly,  never  showing  them  till  the  last 
moment,  and  scolding  her  partner  if  he  called  them  out. 
She  mvariably  claimed  the  deal  at  the  close  of  each  hand, 
thereby  gettmg  it  oftener  than  she  had  a  right  to  it.  But 
she  might  do  what  she  pleased,  sure  that  those  who  played 


356         Miss    Rayenel's     Conversion 

with  her  would  not  complam.  Was  she  not  queen  and 
goddess,  Semiraniis  and  Juno  ?  Who  would  rebel,  even 
in  the  slightest  particular,  against  the  dommion  of  a  hap- 
piness which  overflowed  in  such  gayety,  such  confidence 
in  all  around,  such  unchangeable  amiability  ? 

She  was  in  superb  health  of  body,  and  spirit  without  a 
pam,  or  a  sickly  moment,  or  a  cloud  of  forebodmg,  or  a 
thrill  of  pettishness.  A  physical  calmness  so  deliciously 
placid  as  to  remmd  one  of  that  spiritual  peace  which  passeth 
understandmg,  bore  her  gently  through  the  summer, 
smilmg  on  all  beholders.  Do  you  remember  the  serene 
angel  in  the  first  picture  of  Cole's  Voyage  of  Life,  who 
stands  at  the  helm  of  the  newly  launched  bark,  guiding  it 
down  the  gentle  river  ?  It  is  the  mother  voyaging  with 
her  child,  whether  before  its  birth  or  after.  Just  now  she 
looked  much  like  this  angel,  only  more  frolicsomely  happy. 
Her  blue  eyes  sparkled  with  the  lustre  of  health  so  perfect 
that  the  mere  consciousness  of  a  life  was  a  pleasure.  Her 
cheeks,  usually  showmg  more  of  the  lily  than  of  the  rose, 
were  so  radiant  with  color  that  it  seemed  as  if  every  throb 
of  emotion  might  force  the  blood  through  the  delicate  skin. 
Her  arms,  neck  and  shoulders  were  no  longer  Dianesque, 
but  rounded,  columnal,  Junonian.  It  was  this  novel,  this 
almost  superwomanly  health  which  gave  her  such  an 
efiiorescence  of  happuiess,  amiability  and  beauty. 

She  had  repeatedly  hinted  to  her  husband  that  she  had 
a  secret  to  tell  him.  When  he  asked  what  it  was  she 
l)lushed,  laughed  at  him  for  the  question,  and  declared 
that  he  should  never  know  it,  that  she  had  no  secret  at  all, 
that  she  had  been  joking.  Then  she  wondered  that  he  should 
not  guess  it ;  thought  it  the  strangest  thing  in  the  A^'orld 
that  he  should  not  know  it.  At  last  she  made  her  confes- 
sion :  made  it  to  him  alone,  ^'ith  closed  doors  and  in  dark- 
ness ;  she  could  no  more  have  told  it  in  the  light  of  day 
than  in  the  presence  of  a  circle.  Then  for  many  minutes 
she  nestled  close  to  him  with  wet  cheeks  and  clinguig 
arms,  listening  eagerly  to  his  assurances  of  love  and  devo- 


From     Secession    to     Loyalty.       357 

tion,  hungering  imappeaseably  for  them,  growmg  to  him, 
one  with  him. 

After  this  Carter  treated  his  wife  with  increased  tender- 
ness. Xothmg  that  she  desired  was  too  good  for  her,  or 
too  difficult  to  get.  He  sought  to  check  the  constant 
exercise  which  she  delighted  in,  and  especially  her  lono^ 
rides  on  horseback ;  and  when  with  a  sweet,  laughing  wil- 
fulness she  defied  his  authority,  he  watched  her  ^^'ith  evi- 
dent anxiety.  He  wrote  about  it  all  to  her  father,  and  the 
consequence  -vras  a  visit  from  the  Doctor.  This  combina- 
tion of  natural  potentates  was  victorious,  and  equestrianism 
was  given  up  for  walking  and  tending  flowers.  At  this 
time  she  had  so  much  afiection  to  spare  that  she  lavished 
treasures  of  it,  not  only  on  plants,  but  on  birds,  cats,  dogs, 
and  loonies.  Here  Colburne  drifted  into  the  circle  of  her 
sympathies.  He  was  fond  of  pets,  especially  of  weak  ones, 
for  instance  liking  cats  better  than  dogs,  and  liking  them 
all  the  more  because  most  people  abused  and,  as  he  con- 
tended, misunderstood  them.  He  had  stories  to  tell  of 
felme  creatures  who  had  loved  him  with  a  love  like  that 
of  Jonathan  for  David,  passing  the  love  of  woman.  There 
was  the  abnormally  sensitive  Tabby  who  pined  away  with 
grief  when  his  mother  died,  and  the  uncomformably  intelli- 
gent Tom  who  persisted  in  getting  into  his  trunk  when  he 
was  packing  it  to  go  to  the  wars. 

"  I  am  confident,"  he  asserted,  "  that  Puss  knew  I  was 
about  to  leave,  and  wanted  to  be  taken  along." 

Lillie  did  not  question  it ;  all  love,  even  that  of  animals, 
seemed  natural  to  her ;  she  felt  (not  thought)  that  love 
was  the  tea?her  of  the  soul. 

By  the  way,  Colburne's  passion  for  pets  had  deep  roots 
in  his  character.  It  sprang  from  his  j^itying  fondness  for 
the  weak,  and  was  closely  related  to  his  sympathies  with 
humanity.  It  extended  to  the  feebler  members  of  his  own 
race,  such  as  children  and  old  ladies,  whom  he  befriended 
and  petted  whenever  he  could,  and  who  in  return  granted 
him  their  easily-won  affection.     For  flowers,  and  in  gen- 


358         Miss     Ravexel's     Coxveesiox 

eral  for  inanimate  nature,  he  cared  little ;  never  could  be 
induced  to  study  botany,  nor  to  understand  why  other 
people  should  study  it ;  could  not  see  any  human  interest 
in  it.  Geology  he  liked,  because  it  promised,  he  thought, 
some  knowledge  of  the  early  history  of  man,  or  at  least  of 
the  grand  cosmical  preparation  for  his  advent.  Astronomy 
was  also  interesting  to  him,  inasmuch  as  we  may  at  some 
future  time  traverse  sidereal  spaces.  The  most  interesting 
star  in  the  heavens,  to  his  mind,  was  that  one  in  the 
Pleiades  which  is  supposed  to  be  the  central  sun  of  our 
solar  and  planetary  system.  Around  this  all  that  lie  knew 
and  all  whom  he  loved  revolved,  even  including  Mrs. 
Carter. 

I  presume  that  this  summer  was  the  happiest  period  in 
the  life  of  the  Colonel.  He  was  in  fine  health,  tlianks  to 
his  present  temj^erate  ways,  although  they  reduced  his 
weight  so  rapidly  that  his  ^ife  thought  he  was  sick,  and 
became  alarmed  about  him.  He  frequently  recommended 
marriage  to  Colburne,  and  they  had  long  conversations  on 
the  subject;  not,  however,  before  3Irs.  Carter,  whose  en- 
trance always  caused  the  Captain  to  drop  the  subject.  The 
Telemachus  was  as  fully  persuaded  of  the  benefits,  hapj^i- 
ness  and  duty  of  wedded  life  as  the  Mentor,  and  was  much 
the  best  theorizer. 

"  I  believe,"  he  said,  "  that  neither  man  nor  woman  is  a 
complete  nature  by  himself  or  herself,  and  that  you  must 
unite  the  two  m  one  before  humanity  is  2)erfected,  and,  to 
use  an  Emersonianism,  comes  full  cii'cle.  The  union  is 
aftection,  and  the  consecration  of  it  is  marriage.  You  re- 
member Baron  Munchausen's  horse ;  how  he  was  cut  in 
two,  and  the  halves  got  on  very  poorly  without  each 
other ;  and  how  they  were  reunited  with  mutual  benefit. 
Now  this  is  the  history  of  every  bachelor  and  single 
woman,  who  having  miserably  tried  for  ^  while  to  go  it 
alone,  finally  coalesce  happily  in  one  flesh." 

"  By  Jove,  Captain,  you  talk  like  a  philosopher,"  said 
the  Colonel.     "  You  ought  to  write  something.  You  ought 


From    Secessiox    to    Loyalty.       359 

to  practice,  too,  according  to  your  preaching.  There  is 
Mrs.  Larue,  now.  No,"  he  added  seriously.  "  Don't  take 
her.     She  isn't  worthy  of  you.     You  deserve  the  best." 

Colburne  was  a  better  conversationalist  than  Carter,  ex- 
cej^t  in  the  way  of  small  talk  with  comparative  strangers, 
wherein  the  hitter's  confidence  in  himself,  strengthened  by 
habits  of  authority,  gave  him  an  easy  freedom.  Indeed, 
when  Carter  was  actually  brilliant  in  society,  you  might 
be  sure  he  had  taken  five  or  six  plam  whiskeys,  and  that 
five  or  six  more  (what  a  head  he  sported  !)  Avould  make 
him  moderately  drunk.  If  my  readers  will  go  back  to  the 
dmner  at  Professor  Whitewood's,  and  the  evening  which 
followed  it,  and  the  next  day's  pic-nic  when  he  was  under 
the  influence  of  a  whiskey  fever,  they  will  see  the  best  that 
he  could  do  as  a  talker.  With  regard  to  subjects  which 
implied  ever  so  little  scholarship,  the  Colonel  accorded 
the  Captain  a  facile  admiration  which  at  first  astonished 
the  latter.  Talking  one  day  of  the  earth-works  of  Port 
Hudson,  Colburne  observed  that  the  Romans  threw  up 
field  fortifications  at  the  close  of  every  day's  march,  one 
legion  standing  under  arms  to  protect  the  workmen,  while 
another  marched  out  and  formed  line  of  battle  to  coA^er 
the  foragers.  If  the  brigade  commander  had  ever  known 
these  things,  he  had  evidently  forgotten  them.  He  looked 
at  Colburne  with  undisguised  astonishment,  and  set  him 
down  from  that  moment  as  a  fellow  of  infinite  erudition. 
This  was  far  from  being  the  only  occasion  on  which  the 
volunteer  captain  was  led  to  notice  the  narrow  professional 
basis  from  which  most  of  the  oflicers  of  the  old  service 
talked  and  thought.  Now  and  then  he  met  a  johilosopher 
like  Phelps,  or  a  chemist  like  Franklm  ;  but  in  general  he 
found  them  as  little  versed  in  the  ways  and  ideas  of  the 
world  as  so  many  old  sea-captains  ;  and  even  with  regard 
to  their  own  profession  they  were  narrowly  practical  and 
technical. 

Amidst  all  these  pleasant  sentiments  and  conversings, 
Carter  had  his  perplexities  and  anxieties.     He  was  spend- 


360        Miss    Haven  el's    Conversion 

mcf  more  than  his  income,  and  neither  knew  how  to  in- 
crease  it,  nor  how  to  curtail  his  outlay.  Besides  his  colo- 
nel's pay  he  had  no  resources,  unless  indeed  dunning  let- 
ters could  be  made  into  negotiable  paper.  He  was  not 
very  sensitive  on  the  subject  of  these  missives  ;  and  in  fact 
he  was  what  most  people  would  consider  disgracefully  cal- 
lous to  their  influence  ;  but  he  looked  forward  with  alarm 
to  a  time  when  his  credit  might  fail  altogether,  and,  his 
wife  might  suffer  for  luxuries. 


CHi^TER  XXVI. 

CAPTAIN  COLBUENE  DESCEIBES  CAMP   AND  FIELD  LIFE. 

A  PEEUSAL  of  the  letters  of  Colbume  has  decided  me  to 
sketch  some  of  the  smaller  incidents  of  his  experience  in 
field  service.  The  masculine  hardness  of  the  subject  will 
perhaps  be  an  agreeable  relief  to  the  reader  after  the  scenes 
of  domestic  felicity,  not  very  comprehensible  or  interesting 
to  bachelors,  w^hich  are  depicted  in  the  preceding  chapter. 

The  many  minor  hardships  of  a  soldier  are,  I  presume, 
hardly  suspected  by  a  civilian.  As  an  instance  of  what  an 
oflicer  may  be  called  on  to  endure,  even  under  favorable 
cu'cumstances,  when  for  instance  he  is  not  in  Libby  Prison, 
nor  in  the  starvation  camp  at  Andersonville,  I  cite  the  fol- 
lowing passage  from  the  Captam's  correspondence  : 

"  I  think  that  the  severest  trial  I  ever  had  was  on  a 
transport.  The  soldiers  were  on  half  rations;  and  ofiicers, 
you  know,  must  feed  themselves.  We  had  not  been  paid 
for  four  months,  and  I  commenced  the  voyage,  which  was 
to  last  three  days,  with  seventy-five  cents  in  my  pocket. 
The  boat  charged  a  quarter  of  a  dollar  a  meal.  Such  were 
the  prospects,  and  I  considered  them  solemnly.  I  said  to 
myself,  '  Dinner  will  furnish  the  greatest  amount  of  nourish- 
ment, and  I  will  eat  only  dmner.'  The  first  day  I  went 
without  breakfast  and   supper.     On  th0  morning  of  the 


Fkom    Secession    to     Loyalty.        361 

second  day  I  awoke  fearfully  hungry,  aud  could  not  resist 
the  folly  of  breakfast.  I  had  character  enough  to  refuse 
dmner,  but  by  night  I  was  starvmg  again.  Possibly  you 
do  not  know  what  it  is  to  be  ravening  after  food.  I  ate 
supper.  That  was  my  last  possible  meal  on  board  the 
steamer.  I  had  no  chance  of  borrowing,  for  every  one 
was  about  as  poor  as  myself;  and  to  add  to  my  sufferings, 
the  weather  was  superb  and  I  had  a  seafarmg  appetite. 
I  was  truly  miserable  with  the  degradmg  misery  of  hun- 
ger, thinking  like  a  dog  of  nothmg  but  food,  when  a 
brother  officer  produced  a  watermelon  which  he  had  saved 
for  this  supreme  moment  of  destitution.  He  was  charitable 
enough  to  divide  it  among  four  fellow  paupers ;  and  on 
that  quarter  of  a  watermelon  I  lived  twenty-six  hours,  very 
wretchedly.  When  we  landed  I  was  in  command  of  the 
regiment,  but  could  hardly  give  an  order  loud  enough  to 
be  heard  by  the  shrunken  battalion.  Two  hours  after- 
wards Henry  brought  me  a  small  plate  of  stewed  onions, 
without  meat  or  bread,  not  enough  to  feed  a  Wethersfield 
baby.  I  ate  them  all,  too  starved  to  ask  Henry  whether 
he  had  anything  for  himself  or  not.  Shameful,  but  natural 
Ridiculous  as  it  may  seem,  I  think  I  can  point  to  this  day 
as  the  only  thoroughtly  imhappy  one  in  two  years  of  ser- 
vice. It  was  not  .severe  suffermg ;  but  it  was  so  con- 
temptible, so  animal ;  there  was  no  heroic  relief  to  it.  I 
felt  like  a  starved  cur,  and  growled  at  the  Government, 
and  thought  I  wanted  to  resign.  Hunger,  like  sickness, 
has  a  depressmg  effect  on  the  morale,  and  changes  a  young- 
man  into  his  grandmother." 

It  appears  that  these  little  starvation  episodes  were  of 
frequent  recurrence.  In  one  letter  he  speaks  of  having 
marched  all  day  on  a  single  biscuit,  and  in  another,  writ- 
ten during  his  Virginia  campaign,  of  having  lived  for 
eighteen  hours  on  green  apples.  He  often  alluded  with 
pride  to  the  hardihood  of  soul  which  privations  and  dan- 
gers had  given  to  the  soldiers. 

"  Our  men  are  not  heroes  in  battle  alone,"  he  writes. 

Q 


362         Miss     Ravenel's     Coxveksion 

"Three  months  without  shelter,  drenched  by  rain  or 
scorched  by  the  sun,  tormented  by  mosquitoes,  tainted 
with  fever,  shaking  with  the  ague,  they  appear  stoically 
indifferent  to  all  hardships  but  their  lack  of  tobacco.  Out 
of  the  four  hundred  men  whom  we  brought  to  this  poisonous 
hole  [Brashear  City],  forty  are  dead  and  one  hundred  and 
sixty  are  in  hospital.  We  can  hear  their  screams  a  mile 
away  as  they  go  into  the  other  world  in  their  chariots  of 
delirium.  The  remainder,  half  sick  themselves,  thin  and 
yellow  ghosts  in  ragged  uniforms,  crawl  out  of  their  di- 
minutive shanties  and  go  calmly  to  their  duties  without 
murmuring,  without  a  desertion.  What  a  scattering  there 
would  be  hi  a  Xew  Ens^land  villacje,  in  which  one  tenth 
of  the  inhabitants  should  die  in  six  weeks  of  some  local 
disease  !  Yet  these  men  are  New  Englanders,  only  tem- 
pered to  steel  by  hardships,  by  discipline,  by  a  profound 
sense  of  duty.  How  I  have  seen  them  march  with  blistered 
and  bleeding  feet !  march  all  night  after  having  fought  all 
day !  march  when  every  step  was  a  crucifixion !  Oh, 
these  noblemen  of  nature,  our  American  common  soldiers  ! 
In  the  face  of  suffering  and  of  death  they  are  my  equals  ; 
and  while  I  exact  their  obedience,  I  accord  them  my  re- 
spect." 

The  mud  of  Louisiana  apjjears  to  have  been  as  trouble- 
some a  footmg,  as  the  famous  sacred  soil  of  Virginia. 

"  It  is  the  most  abominable,  sticky,  doughy  stuff  that 
ever  was  used  in  any  country  for  earth,"  he  says.  "  It 
'  balls  up'  on  your  feet  like  damp  snow  on  a  horse's  hoofs. 
I  have  repeatedly  seen  a  man  stop  and  look  behind  him, 
under  the  belief  that  he  had  lost  off  his  shoe,  when  it  was 
merely  the  dropping  of  the  immense  mud-pie  which  had 
formed  around  his  foot.  It  is  like  travelling  over  a  land 
of  suet  saturated  with  pudding  sauce. 

"  Just  now  the  raui  is  coming  down  as  m  the  days  of 
IsToah.  I  am  under  a  tent,  for  an  unusual  mercy  ;  but  the 
drops  ai-e  driven  through  the  rotten  canvass  by  the  wind. 
The  ditch  outside  my  dwelling  is  not  deep  enough  to  carry 


From  Secession    to    Loyalty.  363 

oft^  all  the  water  which  runs  into  it,  and  a  small  stream  is 
stealmg  under  my  bedding  and  formmg  a  puddle  in  the 
centre  of  my  floor.  But  I  don't  care  for  this  ; — I  know 
that  my  rubber-blanket  is  a  good  one  :  the  maiu  nuisance 
is  that  my  interior  will  be  muddy.  By  night  I  expect  to 
be  in  a  new  tent,  enlarged  and  elevated  by  a  siding  of 
planks,  so  that  I  shall  have  a  promenade  of  eight  feet 
in  length  sheltered  from  the  weather.  I  only  fear  that  the 
odor  will  not  be  agreeable ;  for  the  planks  were  plundered 
from  the  molasses-vats  of  a  sugar-mill  and  are  saturated 
with  treacle ;  not  sticky,  you  understand,  but  quite  too 
saccharinely  fragrant." 

It  appears  that  the  army,  even  in  field  service,  is  not 
altogether  barren  of  convivialities.  In  the  letter  following 
the  one,  quoted  above  he  says,  "  My  new  dwelling  has 
been  warmed.  I  had  scarcely  taken  possession  of  it  when 
a  brother  officer,  half  seas  over,  and  with  an  inscrutable 
smile  on  his  lips,  stalks  in  and  insists  upon  treating  the 
occasion.  I  cannot  prevent  it  without  oflending  him,  and 
there  is  no  strong  reason  why  I  should  prevent  it.  He 
sends  to  the  sutler  for  two  bottles  of  claret,  and  then  for 
two  more,  and  finishes  them,  or  sees  that  they  are  finished. 
It  is  soon  evident  that  he  is  crowded  full  and  can't  carry 
any  more  for  love,  or  politeness.  At  dress  parade  I  do  not 
see  him  out,  and  learn  that  he  is  in  his  tent,  vdth  a  pros- 
pect of  remaining  there  for  the  next  twelve  hours.  Yet 
he  is  a  brave,  faithful  officer,  this  now  groggiest  of  slee^^ers, 
and  generally  a  very  temperate  one,  so  that  everybody  is 
wondering,  and,  I  am  sorry  to  say,  giggling,  over  his  un- 
usual obfuscation." 

In  another  letter  he  describes  a  "jollification  by  divi- 
sion" on  the  anniversary  of  the  little  victory  of  Georgia 
Landmg. 

"  All  the  officers,  not  only  of  the  old  brigade  but  of  the 
entire  division,  were  invited  to  headquarters.  Being 
a  long  Avay  from  our  base,  the  eatables  were  limited  to 
dried  beef,  pickles  and  hard-tack,  and  the  only  refreshments 


364         Miss     Ravenel's     Conveesiox 

to  be  had  in  profusion  were  commissary  whiskey  and 
martial  music.  Such  a  roaring  time  as  there  was  by  mid- 
night in  and  around  the  hollow  square  formed  by  the  liead- 
quarter  tents.  By  dint  of  vociferations  the  General  was 
driven  to  make  the  first  speech  of  a  life-time.  He  confined 
himself  chiefiy  to  reminiscences  of  our  battles,  and  made  a 
very  pleasant,  rambling  kind  of  talk,  most  of  it,  however, 
inaudible  to  me,  who  stood  on  the  outside  of  the  circle. 
When  he  closed,  Tom  Perkins,  our  brave  and  bossy  band- 
drummer,  roared  out, '  General,  I  couldn't  hear  much  of 
what  you  said,  but  I  believe  what  you  said  was  right'." 

"  This  soldierly  profession  of  faith  was  followed  by  three- 
times-three  for  our  commander,  everybody  joinmg  in  with- 
out regard  to  grade  of  commission.  Then  Captain  Jones 
of  our  regiment  shouted,  '  Tenth  Barataria  !  three  cheers  for 
our  old  comrades  at  Georgia  Landmg  and  everywhere  else, 
the  Seventy-Fifth  Xew  York  !'  and  the  cheers  were  given. 
Then  Captain  Brown  of  the  Seventy  Fiftli  replied,  '  There 
are  not  many  of  us  Seventy-Fifth  left ;  but  what  there  are, 
we  can  meet  the  occasion ;  three  cheers  for  the  Tenth  Ba- 
rataria !'  Then  one  excited  officer  roared  for  Colonel 
Smith,  and  another  howled  for  Colonel  Robinson,  and 
another  screamed  for  Colonel  Jackson,  in  consequence  of 
which  those  gentlemen  responded  with  sj^eeches.  JSTobody 
seemed  to  care  for  what  they  said,  but  all  hands  yelled  as 
if  it  was  a  bayonet  charge.  As  the  fun  got  fast  and  furi- 
ous public  attention  settled  on  a  gigantic,  dark-complex- 
ioned officer,  stupendously  drunk  and  volcanically  up- 
roarious ;  and  twenty  voices  united  in  shoutmg,  '  Yan 
Zandt !  Yan  Zaudt !' — The  great  Yan  Zandt,  smilmg  like 
an  mtoxicated  hy?ena,  plunged  uncertainly  at  the  crowd, 
and  was  assisted  to  the  centre  of  it.  There,  as  if  he  were 
about  to  make  an  oration  of  an  hour  or  so,  he  dragged  off 
his  overcoat,  after  a  struggle  worthy  of  Weller  Senior  in 
his  pursiest  days  ;  then,  held  up  by  two  friends,  in  a  man- 
ner which  reminded  me  obscurely  of  Aaron,  and  Hur  sus- 
taining Moses,  he  stretched  out  both  Iiands,  and  delivered 


From     Secession    to     Loyalty.  365 

himself  as  follows.  '  G'way  fron^  th'  front  thar !  GVay 
from  the  front  thar !  An'  when  say  g'way  from  th'  front 
—thar ' 

"  He  probably  intended  to  disperse  some  musicians  and 
contrabands  who  were  grinning  at  him ;  but  before  he 
could  explain  himself  another  drunken  gentleman  reeled 
against  him,  vociferating  for  Colonel  Robinson.  Van 
Zandt  gave  way  with  a  gigantic  lurch,  like  that  of  an  over- 
balanced iceberg,  which  carried  him  clean  out  of  the  circle. 
Somebody  brought  him  his  overcoat  and  held  him  up  while 
he  surged  mto  it.  Then  he  fell  over  a  tent  rope  and  lay 
across  it  for  five  minutes,  struggling  to  regain  his  feet  and 
smiling  in  a  manner  incomprehensible  to  the  beholder. 
He  made  no  effort  to  resume  his  speech,  and  evidently 
thought  that  he  had  finished  it  to  public  satisfaction  ;  but 
he  subsequently  addressed  the  General  in  his  tent,  request- 
ing, so  far  as  could  be  understood,  that  the  Tenth  might 
be  mounted  as  cavalry.  Tom  Perkins  also  staggered  into 
the  presence  of  our  commander,  and  made  him  a  pathetic 
address,  weeping  plentifully  over  his  own  maudlin,  and 
shakmg  hands  repeatedly,  with  the  remark,  '  General,  alio w^ 
rae  to  take  you  by  the  hand.' 

"  It  was  an  All  Fools'  evenmg.  For  once  distinctions  of 
rank  were  abolished.  This  morning  we  are  subordinates 
again,  and  the  General  is  our  dignified  superior  ofiicer." 

One  of  the  few  amusements  of  field  service  seems  to  con- 
sist in  listening  to  the  facetiae  of  the  common  soldiers*  more 
particularly  the  irrepressible  Hibernians. 

"  These  Irishmen,"  he  says,  "  are  certainly  a  droll  race 
when  you  get  used  to  their  way  of  looking  at  things.  My 
twenty-five  Pa-ddies  have  jabbered  and  joked  more  since 
they  entered  the  service  than  my  seventy  Americans  backed 
up  by  my  ten  Germans.  To  give  you  an  idea  of  how  they 
prattle  I  will  try  to  set  down  a  conversation  which  I  over- 
heard while  we  were  bivouacking  on  the  field  of  our  first 
battle.  The  dead  are  buried ;  the  wounded  have  been  car- 
ried to  a  temporary  hospital ;  the  pickets  are  out,  watchful, 


3G6         Miss     Ravexel's     Coxversiox 

we  may  be  sure,  "because  half- frozen  in  the  keen  October' 
wmd ;  the  men  who  remam  with  the  colors  are  sitting  up 
around  camp  fires,  their  knapsacks,  blankets  and  overcoats 
three  miles  to  the  rear.  This  seems  hard  measure  for 
fellows  who  have  made  a  twenty-mile  march,  and  gained 
a  A'ictory  since  morning.  But  my  Irishmen  are  as" jolly  as 
ever,  blathering  and  chafiing  each  other  after  their  usual 
fashion.  The  butt  of  the  company  is  Sweeney,  a  withered 
little  animal  who  walks  as  if  he  had  not  yet  thoroughly 
learned  to  go  on  his  hind  legs,  a  most  curious  mixture  of 
simplicity  and  humor,  an  actual  Handy  Andy. 

'  Sweeney,'  says  one,  '  you  ought  to  do  the  biggest  part 
of  the  fightin'.     You  ate  more'n  your  share  of  the  rashins.' 

'  I  don't  ate  no  more  rashins  than  I  get,'  retorts  Sweeney, 
indignant  at  this  stale  calumnv.  '  I^d  like  to  see  the  man 
as  did.' 

'  Oh,  you  didn't  blather  so  much  whin  thim  shells  was 
a-flying  about  your  head.' 

Here  Sweeney  falls  back  upon  his  old  and  sometimes 
successful  dodge  of  trying  to  turn  the  current  of  ridicule 
npon  some  one  else : 

'  Wasn't  Mickey  Emmett  perlite  a-comin'  across  the  lot  ?' 
he  demands.  '  I  see  him  bowin'  like  a  monkey  on  horse- 
back. He  was  makin'  faces  as  'ud  charrm  the  head  off  a 
whalebarry.     Mickey,  you  dodged  beautiful.' 

Mickey.  Thim  shells  'ud  make  a  wooden  man  dodge. 
Sweeney's  the  bye  for  dodgin'.  He  was  a  runnin'  about 
like  a  dry  pea  in  a  hot  shovel. 

Siveeney.  That's  what  me  legB  was  made  for. 

Sullivan.  Are  ye  dead,  Sweeney?  (An  old  joke  which 
I  do  not  understand.) 

Sicecney.  An  I  wud  be  if  I  was  yer  father,  for  thinkin' 
of  the  drrunken  son  I  had. 

Sullivan.  Did  ye  see  that  dead  rebel  with  his  oye  out  ? 

Sweeney.  The  leftenant  ate  up  all  his  corn  cake  while  he 
wasn't  noticiu'. 

SullivfLn.  It  was  lookin'  at  Sweeney  put  his  oye  out. 


From:     Secessiox    to     Loyalty.       367 

Sweeney.  It's  lucky  for  him  lie  didn't  see  the  pair  av  us. 

Jonathan.  Stop  your  yawping,  you  Paddies,  and  let  a 
fellow  sleep  if  he  can.  You're  worse  than  an  acre  of  tom- 
cats. 

Sullivan.  To  the  divil  wid  ye!  It's  a  pity  this  isn't  all 
an  Oirish  company,  for  the  credit  of  the  Captin. 

Touhey.  Byes,  it's  mighty  cowld  slapin'  with  niver  a 
blanket,  nor  a  wife  to  one's  back. 

Siveeney.  I  wish  a  man  'ud  ask  me  to  lisht  for  three  years 
more.     Wouldn't  I  knock  his  head  oif  ? 

Sullivan.  Ye  couldn't  raich  the  head  av  a  man,  Sweeney. 
Ye  hav'n't  got  the  hoight  for  it. 

Sweeney.  I'd  throw  him  down.     Thin  I'd  be  tall  enough. 

"  And  so  they  go  on  till  one  or  two  m  the  morning, 
when  I  fall  asleep,  leaving  them  still  talkmg." 

Even  the  characteristics  of  a  brute  aiford  matter  of  com- 
ment amid  the  Sahara-like  flatness  of  ordinary  camp  life. 

"  I  have  nothmg  more  of  importance  to  communicate," 
he  says  in  one  letter,  "  except  that  I  have  been  adopted 
by  a  tailless  dog,  who,  probably  for  the  lack  of  other  fol- 
lowing, j^ersists  in  laying  claim  to  my  fealty.  If  I  leave  my 
tent  door  open  when  I  go  out,  I  find  him  under  my  bunk 
when  I  come  in.  As  he  has  nothing  to  wag,  he  is  put  to 
it  to  express  his  approval  of  my  ways  and  character. 
When  I  speak  to  him  he  lies  down  on  his  back  with  a 
meekness  of  expression  which  I  am  sure  has  not  been 
rivalled  since  Aloses.  He  is  the  most  abnormally  bobbed 
dog  that  ever  excited  my  amazement.  I  think  I  do  not 
exaggerate  when  I  declare  that  his  tail  appears  to  have 
been  amputated  in  the  small  of  his  back.  How  he  can 
draw  his  breath  is  a  wonder.  In  fact,  he  seems  to  have 
lost  his  voice  by  the  operation,  as  though  the  docking  had 
injured  his  bronchial  tubes,  for  he  never  barks,  nor  growls, 
nor  whines.  I  often  lose  myself  in  speculation  over  his  ab- 
sent appendage,  questionmg  whether  it  was  shot  away  in 
battle,  or  left  behind  in  a  rapid  march,  or  bitten  off,  or 
pulled  out.     Perhaps  it  is  on  detached  service  as  a  waggin- 


D68         Miss    Raven  el's    Conversion 

master,  or  has  got  a  jiromotion  and  become  a  brevet  lion's 
tail.  Perhaps  it  has  gone  to  the  dog  heaven,  and  is  wag- 
ging somewhere  in  glory.  Venturing  again  on  a  pun  I 
observed  that  it  is  very  proper  that  an  army  dog  should 
be  detailed.  I  wish  I  could  find  his  master ; — I  have  just 
one  observation  to  make  to  that  gentleman ; — I  would  say 
to  him,  '  There  is  your  dog. — I  don't  want  the  beast,  and  I 
don't  see  why  he  wants  me ;  but  I  can't  get  rid  of  him, 
any  more  than  I  can  of  Henr)^,  who  is  equally  useless.'  I 
sometimes  try  to  estimate  the  infinitessimal  loss  which  the 
world  would  experience  if  the  two  should  disappear  to- 
gether, but  always  give  up  the  problem  in  despair,  not 
having  any  knowledge  of  fractions  small  enough  to  figure 
it." 

"  In  a  general  way,"  says  Colburne,  "  we  are  sadly  ofi*  for 
amusements.  Fowling  is  not  allowed  because  the  noise  of 
the  guns  alarms  the  pickets.  Even  alligators  I  have  only 
shot  at  once,  when  I  garrisoned  a  little  post  four  miles 
from  camp,  and,  being  left  without  rations,  was  obliged  to 
subsist  my  company  for  a  day  on  boiled  Saurian.  The 
meat  was  eatable,  but  not  recommendable  to  persons  of 
delicate  appetite,  being  of  an  ancient  and  musky  flavor, 
as  though  it  had  been  jjut  up  in  its  horny  case  a  thousand 
years  ago.  By  the  way,  a  minie  ball  knocks  a  hole  in  these 
fellows'  celebrated  jackets  without  the  slightest  difliculty. 
As  for  riding  after  hounds  or  on  steej^le  chases,  or  boxing, 
or  making  up  running  or  rowing  matches,  after  the  gym- 
nastic fashion  of  English  ofiicers,  we  never  think  of  it. 
Now  and  then  there  is  a  horse-race,  but  for  the  most  i^art 
we  play  euchre.  Drill  is  no  longer  an  amusement  as  at 
first,  but  an  inexpressibly  wearisome  monotony.  Conver- 
sation is  profitless  and  dull,  except  when  it  is  professional 
or  larkish.  With  the  citizens  we  have  no  dealings  at  all, 
and  I  have  not  spoken  to  a  lady  since  I  left  Xew  Orleans. 
Books  are  few  because  we  cannot  carry  them  about,  being 
limited  in  our  baggage  to  a  carpet-sack ;  and  moreover 
I  have  lost  my  taste  for  reading,  and  even  for  all  kinds  of 


FROii    Secession    to    Loyalty.       369 

thinking  except  on  military  matters.  My  brother  officers, 
you  know,  are  brave,  sensible  and  useful  men,  but  would 
not  answer  to  fill  the  professorial  chairs  of  Winslow  Uni- 
versity. They  represent  the  plain  people  whose  cause  is 
being  fought  out  in  this  war  against  an  aristocracy.  When 
I  first  went  mto  camp  with  the  regiment  they  humorously 
recognized  my  very  slight  fashionable  elevation  by  styling 
my  company,  which  then  numbered  eighteen  men,  '  The 
Upper  Ten  Thousand.'  Xow  all  such  distmctions  are 
rubbed  out ;  it  is,  who  can  fight  best,  march  best,  com 
mand  best ;  each  one  stands  on  the  base  of  his  individual 
manhood.  In  the  army  a  man  cannot  remain  long  on  a 
social  pedestal  which  will  enable  him  to  overlook  the  top 
of  his  own  head.  He  can  obtain  no  respect  which  is  not 
accorded  to  rank  or  merit ;  and  very  little  merit  is  ac- 
knowledged except  what  is  of  a  professional  character." 

With  true  esprit  du  corps  he  frequently  expatiates  on 
the  excellencies  of  his  regiment. 

"  The  discipline  in  the  Tenth  is  good,"  he  declares,  '*  and 
consequently  there  are  no  mutinies,  no  desertions  and  not 
much  growling.  Ask  the  soldiers  if  they  are  satisfied 
with  the  service,  and  they  might  answer,  'No;'  but  you 
cannot  always  judge  of  a  man  by  what  he  says,  even  in  his 
im23ulsive  moments ;  you  must  also  consider  what  he  does. 
Look  at  an  old  man-of-war's  man  :  he  growls  on  the  fore- 
castle, but  is  as  meek  as  Moses  on  the  quarter-deck;  and, 
notwithstandmg  all  his  mutterings,  he  is  always  at  his 
post  and  does  his  duty  with  a  will.  Just  so  our  soldiers 
frequently  say  that  they  only  want  to  get  out  of  the  ser- 
vice, but  never  run  away  and  rarely  manoeuvre  for  a  dis- 
charge." 

This,  it  will  be  observed,  was  before  the  days  of  substi- 
tutes and  bounty-jumpers,  and  while  the  regiments  were 
still  composed  of  the  noble  fellows  who  enlisted  during  the 
first  and  second  years  of  the  war. 

From  all  that  I  can  learn  of  Captain  Colburne  I  judge 
that  he  was  a  model  officer,  at  least  so  far  as  a  volunteer 

Q2 


370  Miss     Ravenel's     Conversion 

knew  how  to  be  one.  While  his  men  feared  him  on  ac- 
count of  his  reserve  and  his  severe  discipline,  thev  loved 
him  for  the  gallantry  and  cheerful  fortitude  with  which  he 
shared  their  dangers  and  hardships.  The  same  res^^ect 
which  he  exacted  of  them  he  accorded,  at  least  outwardly, 
to  all  superior  officers,  even  including  the  contemptible 
Gazaway.  He  did  this  from  principle,  for  the  good  of  the 
service,  believing  that  authority  ought  not  to  be  questioned 
lightly  in  an  army.  By  the  way,  the  Major  did  not  like 
him :  he  would  have  preferred  to  have  the  Captain  jolly 
and  familiar  and  vulgar ;  then  he  would  have  felt  at  ease 
in  his  presence.  This  gentlemanly  bearing,  this  dignified 
respect,  kept  him,  the  superior,  at  a  distance.  The  truth 
is  that,  although  Gazaway  was,  in  the  emphatic  language 
of  Lieutenant  Van  Zandt,  "  an  inferior  cuss,"  he  never- 
theless had  intelligence  enough  to  suspect  the  profound 
contempt  which  lay  behind  Colburne's  salute.  Only  in 
the  Captain's  letters  to  his  intimate  friend,  Ravenel,  does 
he  speak  unbecomingly  of  the  Major. 

"  He  is,"  says  one  of  these  epistles,  "  a  low-bred,  con- 
ceited, unreasonable,  domineering  ass,  who  by  instinct  de- 
tests a  gentleman  and  a  man  of  education.  He  will  issue 
an  order  contrary  to  the  Regulations,  and  fly  into  a  rage 
if  a  captain  represents  its  illegality.  I  have  got  his  ill- 
will  in  this  way,  I  presume,  as  well  j^erhaps  as  by  knowing 
how  to  spell  correctly.  His  orders,  circulars,  etc.,  are  per- 
fect curiosities  of  literature  until  they  are  corrected  by  his 
clerk,  who  is  a  ])rivate  soldier.  Sometimes  I  am  almost 
tired  of  obeying  and  respecting  my  inferiors ;  and  I  cer- 
tamly  shall  not  continue  to  serve  a  day  after  the  war  is 
over." 

However,  these  matters  are  now  by-gones,  Gazaway  be- 
ing out  of  the  regiment.  I  mention  them  chiefly  to  show 
the  manliness  of  character  which  this  intelligent  and  edu- 
cated young  officer  exhibited  in  remaining  in  the  service 
notwithstanding  moral  annoyances  more  painful  to  bear 
than  marches  and  battles.     He  is  still  enthusiastic;  has 


Feom     Secession    to     Loyalty.         37i 

not  by  any  means  had  fighting  enough ;  wants  to  go  to 
Virginia  in  order  to  be  in  the  thickest  of  it.  He  is  disap- 
pointed at  not  receiving  promotion ;  but  bears  it  bravely 
and  uncomplainmgly,  for  the  sake  of  the  nation ;  bears  it 
as  he  does  sickness,  starvation,  blistered  feet  and  wounds. 


CHAPTER  XXVH. 

COLOXEL     CARTER     ISIAKES     AX    ASTROXOMICAL     EXPEDITION 
WITH  A  DANGEROUS  FELLOW  TRAVELLER, 

^  A  PROSPECT  of  flat  peace  and  boundless  prosperity,  is 
tiresome  to  the  human  eye.  Although  it  is  morally  agree- 
able to  think  about  the  domestic  happiness  and  innocence 
of  the  Carters,  as  sketched  in  a  late  chapter,  there  is  dan- 
ger that  the  subject  might  easily  prove  tiresome  to  the 
reader,  and  moreover  it  is  difficult  to  write  upon  it.  I 
announce  therefore  with  intellectual  satisfaction  thatf  our 
Colonel  is  summoned  to  tlie  trial  of  bidding  good-bye  to 
his  wife,  and  undertaking  a  journey  to  Washington. 

It  was  his  own  work  and  for  his  own  interests.  He  felt 
the  necessity  of  adding  to  his  income,  and  desired  the 
honor  and  claimed  the  justice  of  promotion.  High  Au- 
thority in  the  department  admitted  that  the  star  of  a  briga- 
dier was  not  too  high  a  reward  for  this  brave  man, 
thoroughly  instructed  officer,  model  colonel.  Hig  j  Author- 
ity was  tired  of  gerrymandering  seniorities  so  as  to  give  a 
superb  brigade  of  three  thousand  men  to  the  West  Point 
veteran,  Carter,  and  a  skeleton  division  of  nine  hundred 
men  to  the  ex-major-general  of  militia,  ex-mayor  of  Pom- 
poosuc,  Brigadier-General  John  Snooks.  Accordingly 
when  the  Colonel  applied  for  a  month's  leave  of  absence, 
with  the  understood  purpose  of  suekig  for  an  acknowledg- 
ment of  his  services,  High  Authority  made  him  bearer  (Tf 
dispatches  to  Washington,  so  that,  being  on.  duty,  he 
might  pay  his  travelling  expenses  out  of  the  Government ' 


372         Miss     Raven  el's     Conversion 

pocket.  The  same  mail  which  brought  him  his  order  in- 
formed him  that  a  steamer  would  sail  for  the  north  on  the 
next  day  but  one..  Acting  with  the  rapidity  which  always 
marked  his  movements  when  he  had  once  decided  on  his 
course,  he  took  the  next  morning's  train  for  Xew  Orleans, 
first  pressing  his  wife  for  many  times  *to  his  breast  and 
kissing  away  such  of  her  tears  as  he  could  stay  to  wit- 
ness. To  good  angels,  and  other  people  capable  of  ap- 
preciating such  things,  it  would  have  been  a  pretty  though 
pathetic  spectacle  to  see  this  slender,"  blonde-haired  girl 
clinging  to  the  strong,  bronzed,  richly  colored  man  with 
the  burning  black  eyes. 

"  Oh,  what  shall  I  do  •  Avithout  you  ?"  she  moaned. 
"  What  shall  I  do  with  myself?" 

"  My  dear  little  child,"  he  said,  "  you  will  do  just  what 
you  like.  If  you  choose  to  stay  here  and  keep  house, 
Captain  Colburne  will  see  that  you  are  cared  for.  Perhaps 
it  may  be  best,  however,  to  join  your  father.  Here  are 
twc^hundred  dollars,  all  the  money  that  I  have  except 
what  is  necessary  to  take  me  to  Xew  Orleans.  I  sliall  get 
a  month's  pay  there.  Don't  settle  any  bills.  Tell  people 
that  I  w411  attend  to  them  when  I  come  back. — There. 
Don't  kee])  me,  my  dear  one.  Don't  make  me  lose  the 
train." 

So  he  went,  driving  to  the  railroad  in  an  ambulance, 
while  Lillie  looked  after  him  with  tearful  eyes,  and  waved 
her  handkerchief  and  kissed  her  hand  till  he  was  out  of 
sight.  At  first  she  decided  that  she  would  remain  at 
Thibodeaux  and  think  of  her  husband  in  every  room  of  the 
house,  and  every  walk  of  the  garden  ;  but  after  two  days 
she  found  herself  so  miserably  lonesome  that  she  shut  up 
the  cottage,  went  to  Xew  Orleans  and  threw  herself  upon 
her  father  for  consolation.  Havmg  told  so  much  in  anticipa- 
tion we  will  go  back  to  the  Colonel.  The  two  hundred 
dollars  wliich  he  left  with  his  wife  had  been  borrowed 
from  the  willing  Colburne.  Carter  had  no  pay  due  him 
as  he  had  hinted,  but  he  hoped  to  obtam  a  month's  ad- 


Fkom     Secession     to     Loyalty.        373 

vance  from  a  paymaster,  or,  failing  in  that,  to  borrow  from 
some  one,  say  tlie  commanding  general.  In  fact,  one  hun- 
dred and  fifty  dollars,  abstracted  from  Government  funds. 
I  fear,  were  furnished  him  by  a  neglected  quartermaster, 
who  likewise  wanted  promotion  and  was  willing  to  run 
this  risk  for  the  sake  of  securing  the  benign  influences  of 
Carter's  future  star.  With  this  friend  in  need  the  Colonel 
took  the  first  o-lass  of  plain  whiskey  which  he  had  swallowed 
in  three  months.  To  this  followed  other  glasses,  profiered 
by  other  friends,  whose  importunity  he  could  not  noAY  re- 
sist, although  yesterday  he  had  repulsed  them  with  ease. 
Every  .brother  colonel,  every  aj^preciating  brigadier, 
seemed  possessed  of  Satan  to  l6ad  him  to  a  bar  or  to  his. 
own  quarters  and  there  to  toast  his  health,  or  his  luck,  or 
his  star.  It  was  "  Here's  how  !"  and  "  Here's  towards 
you !"  from  ten  o'clock  in  the  mornmgr  when  he  oot  his 
money,  until  four  in  the  afternoon  when  he  sprang  on 
board  the  Creole  just  as  she  loosed  her  moorings  from  the 
shaky  posts  of  the  tattered  wooden  wharf  Being  in  that 
state  of  exhilaration  which  enabled  Tam  O'Shanter  to  gaze 
on  the  witches  of  Alloway  kirk-yard  without  flinchmg,  the 
Colonel  was  neither  astonished  nor  alarmed  at  encounter- 
ing on  the  quarter-deck  the  calm,  beautiful,  dangerous  eyes 
of  Madame  Larue.  The  day  before  he  would  have  been  al- 
most willing  to  lose  the  steamer  rather  than  travel  with  her. 
Xow,  in  the  fearlessness  of  plain  whiskey,  he  shook  both  her 
hands  with  impetuous  warmth  and  said,  "  'Pon  honoi»,  Mrs. 
Larue,  perfectly  delighted  to  see  you." 

"And  so  am  I  delighted,"  she  answered  Avith  a  flash  of 
unfeigned  pleasure  in  her  eyes,  which  might  have  alarmed 
the  Carter  of  yesterday  but  which  gratified  the  Carter  of 
to-day. 

"  Now  I  shall  have  a  cavalier,"  she  continued,  allowing 
him  to  pull  her  down  on  a  seat  by  his  side.  "  Kow  I  shall 
have  a  protector  and  adviser.  I  have  had  such  need  of 
one.  Did  you  know  that  I  was  going  on  this  boat  ?  I  am 
so  flattered  if  you  meant  to  accompany  me  !     I  am  going 


374  Miss    Ravexel's     Conversion 

north  to  invest  ray  little  property.  I  still  fear  that  it  is 
not  safe  here.  Xo  one  knows  what  may  happen  here.  As 
soon  as  I  could  sell  for  a  convenable  sum,  I  resolved  to 
go  north.  I  shall  expect  you  to  be  my  counsellor  how  to 
invest." 

Carter  laughed  boisterously. 

"  My  dear,  I  never  invested  a  picayune  in  my  life,"  he 
said. 

She  noticed  the  term  of  endearment  and  the  fact  of 
semi-intoxication,  but  she  was  not  vexed  nor  alarmed  by 
either.  She  was  tolerably  well  accustomed  to  drunken 
gentlemen,  and  she  was  not  easily  hurt  by  love-making, 
no  matter  how  vigorous. 

"  You  have  always  invested  in  the  Bank  of  Love,"  she 
remarked  wdth  one  of  those  amatory  glances  wliich  black 
eyes,  it  seems  to  me,  can  make  more  effective  than  blue 
ones. 

"  And  in  monte  and  faro,  and  bluff  and  euchre,"  he 
added,  laughing  loudly  again.  "  In  wine  bills,  and  hotel 
bills,  and  tailors'  bills,  and  all  sorts  of  negatives." 

The  debts  which  weighed  somewhat  heavily  yesterday 
were  mere  comicalities  and  piquancies  of  life  to-day. 

"  Oh  !  you  are  a  terrible  personage.  I  fear  you  are  not 
the  protector  I  ought  to  choose." 

He  made  no  reply,  feeling  vaguely  that  the  conversa- 
tion was  growing- dangerous,  and  sending  back  a  thought 
to  his  wife  like  a  cry  for  help.  Mrs.  Larue  divined  his 
alarm  and  changed  the  subject. 

"  What  makes  you  voyage  north  ?"  she  asked  with  a 
knowing  smile.     "  Are  you  in  search  of  a  new  planet  ?" 

Through  his  plain  whisliey  the  Colonel  could  not  see  her 
joke  on  the  star  which  he  was  seeking,  but  he  was  still 
clever  enough  to  shun  the  confession  that  he  was  on  an  ex- 
pedition in  search  of  promotion. 

"  I  am  bearer  of  dispatches,"  he  said.  "  Xothmg  to  do 
now  in  Louisiana.  I  shall  be  back  before  any  more  fight- 
ing comes  off"." 


From    Secession    to    Loyalty.         375 

"  Shall  you  ?  I  am  enchanted  of  it.  I  shall  return  soon, 
and  hope  to  make  the  voyage  with  you.  I  am  not  going 
to  forsake  Xew  Orleans.  I  love  the  city  well  enough — and 
more,  I  cannot  sell  my  house.  Remember,  you  must  let 
me  know  when  you  return,  and  arrange  yourself  to  come 
on  my  steamer." 

Xext  morning,  in  possession  of  his  sober  senses,  Carter 
endeavored  to  detach  himself  a  little  from  Mrs.  Larue, 
impelled  to  this  seeming  lack  of  chivalry  by  remembrance 
of  his  wife,  and  mistrust  of  his  own  power  of  self-govern- 
ment. But  this  prudent  course  soon  appeared  to  be  im- 
possible for  a  variety  of  reasons.  In  the  first  place  it  hap- 
pened, whether  by  chance  or  through  her  forethought 
lie  did  not  know,  that  their  state-rooms  opened  on  the 
same  narrow  passage.  Li  the  second  place,  he  was  the 
only  acquamtance  that  Mrs.  Larue  had  on  board,  and  there 
was  not  another  lady  to  take  her  up,  •  the  Creole  being  a 
Government  transport,  and  civilian  travel  being  in  those 
times  rare  between  New  York  and  New  Orleans.  More- 
over, the  other  passengers  were  in  his  estimation  low,  or 
at  least  plain  people,  sucR  as  sutlers,  speculators,  and 
rough  volunteer  officers — so  that,  if  he  left  her,  she  was 
alone,  and  could  not  even  venture  on  deck  for  a  breath  of 
fresh  air.  At  any  rate,  that  was  the  Avay  that  she  chose 
to  put  it,  although  there  was  not  the  least  danger  that 
she  would  be  insulted,  and  although,  had  Carter  been 
absent,  she  would  not  have  failed  to  strike  up  a  flirta- 
tion with  some  other  representative  of  my  noble  sex. 
Finally,  he  was  obliged  to  consider  that  she  was  a  rela- 
tive of  his  Avife.  Thus  before  the  second  day  was  over, 
he  found  himself  under  bonds  of  courtesy  to  be  the  con- 
stant attendant  of  Mrs.  Larue.  They  sat  together  next 
the  head  of  the  table,  the  lady  being  protected  from  the 
ignoble  crowd  of  volunteers  by  the  Colonel  on  one  side, 
and  the  captain  of  the  Creole  on  the  other.  Opposite  them 
were  a  major  and  a  chaplain,  highly  respectable  persons 
so  far  as  one  could  judge  from  their  conversation,  but  who 


376  Miss     Ravexel's     Con  version 

never  got  a  word,  rarely  a  look,  from  Mrs.  Larue  or  Car- 
ter. The  captain  talked,  first  witb.  one  party,  then  with 
the  other,  hut  never  with  both  at  once.  He  Avas  a  polite 
and  considerate  man,  accustomed  to  his  delicate  official 
position  as  a  host,  and  he  saw  that  he  w^ould  not  he  thanked 
for  making  the  conversation  general.  Except  to  him,  to 
Carter,  and  to  the  servants,  Mrs.  Larue  did  not  speak 
one  word  during  the  first  seven  days  of  the  passage.  All 
the  volunteer  officers  admired  her  nun-like  demeanor.  Kept 
afar  off,  and  with  no  other  woman  in  sight,  they  began 
to  worship  her,  much  as  the  brigade  at  Thibodeaux 
adored  that  solitary  planet  of  loveliness,  Mrs.  Carter. 
The  fact  that  she  was  a  widow,  which  crept  out  in  some 
inexplicable  manner,  only  heightened  the  enthusiasm. 

"  By  Heavens  !"  declared  one  flustered  Captain,  "  if  I 
only  had  Colonel  before  my  name,  and  a  hundred  thou- 
sand dollars  after  it,  I  would  rush  to  her  and  say,  '  Mad- 
ame, are  you  inconsolable?  Could  I  persuade  you  to 
forget  the  dear  departed  ?'  " 

While  these  gentlemen  worshipped  her.  Carter  hoped 
she  would  get  sea- sick.  This 'great,  brawny,  boisterous, 
domineering,  heroic  fighter  had  just  enough  moral  vitality 
to  know  when  he  was  in  danger  of  falling,  and  to  wish  for 
safety.  Those  Avere  perilous  hours  at  evening,  when  the 
ship  sw6pt  steadily  through  a  lulling  whisper  of  waters, 
when  a  trail  of  foamy  phosphorescense,  like  a  transitory 
Milky  Way,  followed  in  pursuit,  when  a  broad  bar  of  rip- 
plmg  light  ran  straight  out  to  the  setting  moon,  when  the 
decks  were  deserted  except  by  slumberers,  and  Mrs.  Larue 
persisted  in  dallying.  The  temptation  of  darkness,  the 
temptation  of  solitude,  the  fever  which  begins  to  turn 
sleepless  brains  at  midnight,  made  this  her  possible  hour 
of  coquettish  conquest.  She  varied  from  delicately  phrased 
sentimentalities  to  hoydenish  physical  impertinences.  He 
was  not  permitted  for  five  minutes  together  to  forget  that 
she  was  a  bodily,  as  well  as  a  spiritual  presence.  He  was 
not  checked  in  any  transitory  license  of  speech  or  gesture. 


From    Secession    to     Lotaltt.         STY 

Meantime  she  quoted  fine  rhapsodies  from  Balzae,  and  re- 
peated telling  situations  from  Dumas  le  Jeune,  and  com- 
mented on  both  in  the  interest  of  the  sainte  passion  de 
r amour.  Once,  after  a  few  moments  of  silence  and  revery, 
she  said  with  an  air  of  earnest  feeling,  "  Is  it  not  a  horrible 
fate  for  a  woman — solitude  ?  Doyou  not  pity  me  ?  Thirty 
yeai's  old,  a  widow,  and  childless  !  No  one  to  love  ;  no 
right  to  love  any  one." 

She  changed  into  French  now,  as  she  frequently  did  when 
she  was  animated  and  wished  to  express  herself  freely. 
Such  talk  as  this  sounds  unnatural  in  the  language  of  the 
Anglo-Saxon,  but  is  not  so  unbecoming  to  the  tongue  of 
the  Gauls. 

"  A  woman  to  whom  the  aifections  are  forbidden,  is  de- 
prived of  the  use  of  more  than  half  her  bemg.  Whatever 
her  ^possibilities,  she  is  denied  all  expansion  beyond  a  cer- 
tain limit.  She  may  not  explore,  much  less  use,  her  own 
heart.  It  contains  chambers  of  joy  which  she  can  only 
guess  of,  and  into  which  she  must  not  enter.  There  is  a 
nursery  of  affections  there,  but  she  can  only  stand  ^^th 
her  ear  to  the  door,  tryuig  to  hear  the  sweet  prattle  ^'ithin. 
There  is  an  innermost  chapel,  mth  an  altar  all  set  for  the 
communion  of  love,  but  no  priest  to  invite  her  to  the  holy 
banquet.  She  is  capable  of  a  mother's  everlasting  devo- 
tion, but  she  scarcely  dares  suspect  it.  She  is  fitted  to 
enter  upon  the  tender  mysteries  of  wifehood,  and  yet  she 
is  constantly  fearing  that  she  shall  never  meet  a  man  whom 
she  can  love.  That  is  the  old  maid,  horrible  name  !  The 
widow  is  less  ashamed,  but  she  is  more  unhappy.  She  has 
been  taught  her  possibilities,  and  then  suddenly  forbidden 
the  use  of  them." 

Had  the  Colonel  been  acquainted  with  Michelet  and  his 
fellow  rhapsodists  on  women,  he  might  have  suspected 
Madame  of  a  certain  amount  of  plagiarism.  But  he  only 
thought  her  amazingly  clever,  at  the  same  time  that  he 
was  unable  to  answer  her  in  her  own  style. 


378         Miss    Raven  el's     Cox  vers  ion 

"  Why  don't  you  marry  ?"  he  asked,  striking  with  Anglo- 
Saxon  practicality  at  the  root  of  the  matter. 

"  Satirical  question  I"  responded  Madame,  putting  her 
face  close  to  his,  doubtless  in  order  to  make  her  smile  visi- 
ible  by  moonlight.  "  It  is  not  so  easy  to  marry  in  these 
frightful  times.  Besides, — shall  I  avow  it? — what  if  I 
cannot  marry  the  man  of  my  choice  ?" 

"  That's  bad." 

"  What  if  he  uould  marry  some  one  else  ? — Is  it  not  a 
humilating  confession  ? — Do  you  know  what  is  left  to  a 
woman  then  ?  Either  hidden  love,  or  spiritual  self-mur- 
der. Which  is  the  greater  of  the  two  crimes  ?  Is  the  for- 
mer a  crime  ?  Society  says  so.  But  are  there  not  excep- 
tions to  all  rules,  even  moral  ones  ?  Love  always  has  this 
great  defence — that  nature  prompts  it,  commands  it.  As 
for  self-repression,  asphyxia  of  the  heart,  Xature  never 
prompts  that." 

The  logical  conclusion  of  all  this  sentimental  soj^histry 
was  clear  enough  to  Carter's  intellect,  although  it  did  not 
deceive  his  Anglo-Saxon  conscience.  He  understood, 
briefly  and  in  a  matter  of  fact  way  that  Madame  was  quite 
willing  to  be  his  wife's  rival.  He  was  not  yet  pi'epared  to 
accept  the  oiler ;  he  only  feared  and  anticipated  that  he 
should  be  brought  to  accept  it. 

Mrs.  Larue  was  a  curious  study.  Her  vices  and  virtues 
(for  she  had  both)  were  all  instinctive,  mthout  a  taint  of 
education  or  eflbrt.  She  did  just  what  she  liked  to  do, 
unchecked  by  conscience  or  by  anythmg  but  prudence. 
She  was  as  coiTupt  as  possible  without  self-reproach,  and 
as  amiable  as  possible  without  self-restraint.  Her  serenity 
was  at  all  times  as  unrippled  as  was  that  of  Lillie  in  her 
happiest  conditions.  Her  temper  was  so  sunny,  her  smile 
so  ready,  and  her  manner  so  flattering,  that  few  persons  of 
the  male  sex  could  resist  liking  her.  But  she  was  the  de- 
testation of  most  of  her  lady  acquaintance — who  were 
venomously  jealous  of  her  attractions — or  rather  seduc- 
tions— and  abhorred  her  for  the  imscrupulous  manner  in 


Feom    Secession    to    Loyalty.         379 

which  she  put  them  to  use,  abushig  her  in  a  way  which 
was  enough  to  make  a  man  rally  to  her  rescue.  She  really 
cared  little  for  that  divin  sens  du  genesiaque  concerning 
which  she  prattled  so  freely  to  her  intimates ;  and  there- 
fore she  was  cool  and  sure  in  her  coquetries,  at  the  same 
time  that  vanity  gave  her  motive  force  which  some  naughty 
flirts  derive  from  passion.  She  took  a  pride  in  making- 
conquests  of  men,  at  no  matter  what  personal  sacrifice. 

Carter  saw  where  he  was  drifting  to,  and  groaned  over 
it  in  s^^irit,  and  made  resolutions  which  he  broke  in  half 
an  hour,  and  rowed  desperately  against  the  tide,  and  then 
drifted  agam. 

"A  woman  in  the  same  house  has  so  many  devilish 
chances  at  a  fellow,"  he  repeated  to  himself  with  a  bitter 
laugh  ;  and  indeed  he  coarsely  said  as  much  to  Mrs.  Larue, 
with  a  desperate  hope  of  angering  and  alienatmg  her.  She 
put  on  a  meekly  aggrieved  air,  drew  away  from  him,  and 
answered,  "  That  is  unmanly  in  you.  I  did  not  thmk  you 
could  be  so  dishonorable." 

He  was  deeply  humiliated,  begged  her  jDardon,  swore 
that  he  was  merely  jesting,  and  troubled  himself  much  to 
obtain  forgiveness.  During  the  whole  of  that  day  she  was 
distant,  dignified  and  silently  reproachful.  Yet  all  the 
while  she  was  not  a  bit  angry  with  him  ;  she  was  as  mail 
cious  as  Mephistopheles,  but  she  was  also  as  even-tem- 
pered ;  moreover  she  was  flattered  and  elated  by  the  evi- 
dent desperation  which  drove  him  to  the  impertinence. 
In  his  eflbrts  to  obtain  a  reconciliation  Carter  succeeded 
so  thoroughly  that  the  scene  took  place  late  at  night,  his 
arm  around  her  waist  and  his  lips  touching  her  cheek. 
You  must  remember — charitably  or  indignantly,  as  you 
please — that  she  was  his  wife's  relative.  From  this  time 
forward  he  pretty  much  stopped  his  futile  rowing  against 
the  tide.  He  let  Mrs.  Larue  take  the  helm  and  guide  him 
down  the  current  of  his  own  emotions,  singing  meawhile 
her  syren  lyrics  about  la  sainte  passion,  etc.  etc.  There 
were  hours,  indeed,  when  he  grated  over  reefs  of  remorse. 


380         Miss     11  a  v  e  n  e  l  '  s     Conversion 

At  the  thought  of  liis  innocent,  loving,  trusting  Avife  he 
shut  his  eyes  as  if  to  keep  out  the  gaze  of  a  reproachful 
spectre,  clenched  his  hands  as  if  trying  to  grasp  some  rope 
of  escape,  and  cursed  himself  for  a  fool  and  a  villain.  But 
it  was  a  penitence  without  fruit,  a  self-reproach  without 
self-control. 

Mrs.  Larue  treated  him  now  'svdth  a  familiar  and  coufid- 
ino-  fondness  which  he  sometimes  liked  and  sometimes  not, 
according  as  the  present  or  the  past  had  the  strongest  hokl 
on  liis  feelings. 

"  I  am  afraid  that  you  do  not  always  realize  that  we  are 
one  for  life,"  she  said  in  one  of  her  earnest,  French  speak- 
ing moods.  "You  are  my  sworn  friend  forever.  You 
must  never  hate  me  ;  you  cannot.  You  must  never  change 
towards  me ;  it  would  be  a  perjury  of  the  heart.  But  I 
do  not  doubt  you,  my  dear  friend.  I  have  all  confidence 
in  you.  Oh,  T  am  so  happy  in  feeling  that  we  are  united 
in  such  an  indissoluble  concord  of  sympathy." 

Carter  could  only  reply  by  taking  her  hand  and  press- 
ing it  in  silence.  He  was  absolutely  ashamed  of  himself 
that  he  was  able  to  feel  so  little  and  to  say  nothing. 

"  I  never  shall  desire  a  husband,"  she  proceeded.  "  I  can 
now  use  all  my  heart.  What  does  a  woman  need  more  ?  How 
strangely  Heaven  has  made  us !  A  woman  is  only  happy 
when  she  is  the  slave,  body  and  soul,  of  some  man.  She 
is  happy,  just  in  proportion  to  her  obedience  and  self- 
sacrifice.  Then  only  she  is  aware  of  her  full  nature.  She 
is  relieved  from  prison  and  permitted  the  joy  of  expansion. 
It  is  a  seeming  paradox,  but  it  is  solemnly  true." 

Carter  made  no  answer,  not  even  by  a  look.  He  was 
thinking  that  his  wife  never  philosophised  concerning  her 
love,  never  analyzed  her  sentiments,  and  a  shock  of  self- 
reproach,  as  startling  as  the  throb  of  a  heart-complaint, 
struck  him  as  he  called  to  mind  her  purity,  trust  and  affec- 
tion. It  is  curious,  by  the  way,  that  he  sufiered  no  re- 
morse on  account  of  Mrs.  Larue.  In  his  opinion  she  fared 
no  worse  than  she  deserved,  and  in  fact  fared  precisely  as 


From    Secessiox    to     Loyalty,        381 

she  desired,  only  he  had  not  the  nerve  to  tell  her  so. 
When,  late  one  night,  on  the  darkened  and  deserted 
quarter-deck,  she  cried  on  his  shoulder  and  whispered,  "  I 
am  afraid  you  don't  love  me — I  have  a  right  to  claim 
your  love,"  he  felt  no  affection,  no  gratitude,  not  even  any 
profound  pity.  It  ann'oyed  him  that  she  should  weep,  and 
thus  as  it  were  reproach  him,  and  thus  trouble  still  further 
his  wretched  ha^^piness.  He  was  not  hypocrite  enough  to 
say,  "  I  do  love  you ;"  he  could  only  kiss  her  repeatedly, 
penitently  and  in  silence.  He  still  had  a  remnant  of  a  con- 
science, and  a  mangled,  sore  sense  of  honor.  IsTor  should 
it  be  understood  that  Mrs.  Larue's  tears  were  entirely  hy- 
pocritical, although  they  arose  from  emotions  which  were 
so  trivial  as  to  be  somewhat  difficult  to  handle,  and  so 
mixed  that  I  scarcely  know  how  to  assort  them.  In  the 
first  place  she  was  not  very  well  that  evening,  and  was 
oppressed  by  the  despondency  which  all  human  beings,  es- 
pecially women,  suffer  from  when  vitality  throbs  less  vig- 
orously than  usual.  Moreover  a  little  emotion  of  this  sort 
was  desirable,  firstly  to  complete  the  conquest  of  Carter  by 
reminding  him  how  much  she  had  sacrificed  for  him,  and 
secondly  to  rehabilitate  herself  in  her  own  esteem  by  prov- 
ing that  she  possessed  a  species  of  conscience.  N'o  wo- 
man likes  to  believe  herself  hopelessly  corrupt :  when 
she  reaches  that  point  she  is  subject  to  moral  spasms  which 
make  existance  seem  a  horror ;  and  we  perhaps  find  her 
floating  in  the  river,  or  as^^hyxiated  with  charcoal.  There- 
fore let  no  one  be  surprised  at  the  temporary  tenderness, 
similar  to  compunction,  which  overcame  Mrs.  Larue. 

Xow  that  these  two  had  that  conscience  which  makes 
cowards  of  us  all,  they  dropped  a  portion  of  the  reserve 
^^ith  which  they  had  hitherto  kept  their  fellow-passen- 
gers at  a  distance.  The  captam  was  encouraged  to  in- 
troduce his  two  neighbors,  the  major  and  chaplain ;  and 
Mrs.  Larue  cast  a  few  tellmg  glances  at  the  former  and 
discussed  theological  subjects  mth  the  latter.  To  one 
who  knew  her,  and  was  not  shocked  by  her  masquerades, 


382         Miss     Raven  el's     Coxversion 

nothing  could  be  more  diverting  tlian  the  nun-like  airs 
which  she  put  on  j^our  achalander  le  prttre.  Carter  and 
she  laughed  heartily  over  them  in  their  evening  asides. 
She  would  have  made  a  capital  actress  in  the  natural  com- 
edy school  known  on  the  boards  of  the  Gymnase  and  at 
Wallack's,  for  it  was  an  easy  amusement  to  her  to  play  a 
variety  of  social  characters.  She  had  no  strong  emotions 
nor  profound  principles  of  action,  it  is  true,  but  she  was 
sympathetic  enough  to  divine  them,  and  clever  enough  to 
imitate  their  expression.  Her  manner  to  the  chaplam  was 
so  religiously  respectful  as  to  pull  all  the  strmgs  of  his 
unconscious  vanity,  personal  and  professional,  so  that  he 
fell  an  easy  prey  to  her  humbugging,  declared  that  he  con- 
sidered her  state  of  mmd  deeply  interesting,  prayed  for 
her  in  secret,  and  hoped  to  convert  her  from  the  errors  of 
papacy.  Indeed  her  profession  of  faith  was  promismg  if 
not  finally  satisfiictory. 

"  I  believe  in  the  holy  catholic  church,"  she  said.  "  But 
I  am  not  dogmatique.  I  think  that  others  also  may  have 
the  truth.  Our  faith,  yours  and  mine,  is  at  bottom  one, 
indivisible,  imcontradictory.  It  is  only  our  human  weak- 
ness which  leads  us  to  dispute  with  each  other.  We  dis- 
jmte,  not  as  to  the  faith,  but  as  to  who  holds  it.  This  is 
uncharitable.     It  is  like  quarrelsome  children." 

The  chaplain  was  charmed  to  agree  with  her.  He  thought 
her  the  most  hopefully  religious  catholic  that  he  had  ever 
met ;  he  also  thought  her  the  wittiest,  the  most  graceful, 
and  on  the  whole  the  handsomest.  Her  eyes  alone  were 
enough  to  deceive  him :  they  were  inexhaustible  green- 
rooms of  sparkling  masks  and  disguises;  and  he  was 
especially  taken  with  the  Madonnesque  gaze  which  issued 
from  their  recesses.  He  was  bamboozled  also  by  the  prim, 
broad,  white  collar,  like  a  surplice,  which  she  put  on  ex- 
pressly to  attract  him ;  by  the  demure  air  of  childlike  i^iety 
which  clothed  her  like  a  mantle ;  by  her  deferen'ce  to  his 
opinion  ;  by  her  teachable  spirit.  Perhaps  he  may  also 
have  been  pleased  mth  her  plump  shoulders  and  round 


From  Secession    to    Loyalty.  383 

arms,  and  he  certainly  did  glance  at  them  occasionally  as 
their  outlines  showed  through  the  transparent  muslin ;  but 
he  said  nothing  of  them  in  his  talks  concerning  Mrs.  Larue 
Avitli  his  room-mate  the  Major. 

"  Tai  a2)2^rivaise  le  pretre,^^  she  observed  laughingly  to 
Carter.  "  I  have  assured  myself  a  firm  friend  in  his  rever- 
ence. He  will  defend  me  the  character  always.  He  has 
asked  me  to  visit  his  family,  and  promised  to  call  to  see 
me  at  Xew  York.  Madame  La  Pretresse  is  to  call  also. 
He  is  quite  capable  of  praying  me  to  stand  godmother  to 
his  next  child.  If  he  were  not  married,  I  should  have  an 
ofi'er.  I  believe  I  could  bring  him  to  elope  with  me  in  a 
fortnight." 

"  Why  don't  you  ?"  asked  Carter.  "  It  would  make  a 
scandal  that  would  amuse  you,"  he  added  somewhat  bit- 
terly, for  he  was  at  times  disgusted  by  her  heartlessness. 

"  Ko,  my  dear,"  she  replied  gently,  pressing  his  arm. 
"I  am  quite  satisfied  with  my  one  conquest.  It  is  all  I 
desire  in  the  world." 

They  were  leaning  against  the  tafii-ail,  listening  to  the 
gurgling  of  the  waters  in  the  luminous  wake  and  watching 
the  black  lines  of  the  masts  waving  against  the  starlit  sky. 

"  You  are  silent,"  she  observed.  "  Why  are  you  so  sad?" 

"  I  am  thinking  of  my  wife,"  he  replied,  almost  sullenly. 

"  Poor  Lillie  !     I  wish  she  were  here,"  said  Mrs.  Larue. 

"  My  God !  what  a  woman  you  are  !"  exclaimed  the 
Colonel.  "  Don't  you  know  that  I  should  be  ashamed  to 
look  her  in  the  face  ?" 

"  Mv  dear,  why  do  you  distress  yourself  so  ?  You  can 
love  her  still.  I  am  not  exacting.  I  only  want  a  comer 
in  your  heart.  If  I  might,  I  would  demand  the  whole ; 
but  I  know  I  could  not  have  it.  You  ought  not  to  be  un- 
happy ;  that  is  my  part  in  the  drama.  I  have  sacrificed 
much.  What  have  you  sacrificed?  A  man  risks  nothing, 
loses  nothing,  in  these  afiairs  du  coeur.  He  has  a  bonne  for- 
tune, voild  toutr 

Carter  was  heavy  laden  in  secret  with  his  bonne  fortune. 


384        Miss     Ravenel's    Conversion 

He  was  glad  when  the  voyage  ended,  and  he  could  leave 
Mrs.  Larue  at  Xcw  York,  with  a  pleasing  chance  that  he 
might  never  meet  her  again,  and  a  hope  that  he  had  heard 
the  last  of  her  sainte  j^o^ssion  cle  Vamour.  Of  course  he 
was  obliged,  before  he  quitted  her,  to  see  that  she  was 
established  in  a  good  boarding  house,  and  to  introduce 
her  to  one  or  two  respectable  fomilies  among  liis  old  ac- 
.  quaint ance  in  the  city.  Of  course  also  he  said  nothing  to 
these  families  about  her  proi:>ensities  towards  the  divin 
sens  and  the  sainte  passion.  She  quickly  made  herself  a 
character  as  a  southern  loyalist,  and  as  such  became  quite 
a  pet  in  society.  Before  she  had  been  a  week  in  the  city 
she  was  an  inmate  of  the  household  of  the  Rev.  Dr.  White- 
head, a  noted  theologian  and  leading  abolitionist,  who 
Avorked  untiringly  at  the  seemingly  easy  task  of  convert- 
ing her  from  the  errors  of  slavery  and  papacy.  It  some- 
what scandalized  his  graver  parishioners,  especially  those 
of  Copperhead  tendencies,  that  he  should  patronize  so  gay 
a  lady.  But  the  Reverend  Doctor  did  not  see  her  pranks, 
and  did  not  believe  the  tale  when  others  related  them. 
How  could  he  when  she  looked  the  picture  of  a  saint, 
dressed  entirely  in  black  and  white,  wore  her  hair  plam  a 
la  Madojine,  and  talked  theology  with  those  earnest  eyes, 
and  that  childlike  smile  ?  To  the  last  he  honestly  regarded 
her  as  very  nigh  unto  the  kmgdom  of  heaven.  It  was  to 
shield  her  from  envious  slanders,  to  cover  her  with  the 
gegis  of  his  great  and  venerable  name,  that  the  warm- 
hearted, unsuspicious  old  gentleman  dedicated  to  her  his 
little  work  on  moral  reform,  entitled  "  St.  Mary  Magdalen." 
How  ecstatically  Mrs.  Larue  laughed  over  this  book  when 
she  got  to  her  own  room  with  it,  after  the  presentation  !  She 
had  not  had  such  a  paroxysm  of  merriment  before,  since 
she  was  a  child ;  for  durmg  all  her  adult  life  she  had  been 
too  blasee  to  laugh  often  A\ith  profound  heartiness  and 
honesty :  her  gayety  had  been  superficial,  like  most  of  her 
other  expressions  of  feeling.  I  can  imagine  that  she  looked 
very  attractive  m  her  spasm  of  jollity,  with  her  black  eyes 


Froji    Secession    to    Loyalty. 


385 


sparklmg,  her  brunette  cheeks  flushed,  her  jetty  streams 
of  hau-  waving  and  her  darkly  roseate  arms  and  shoulders 
bare  m  the  process  of  undressing.  Before  she  went  to  bed 
she  put  the  book  in  an  envelope  addressed  to  Carter,  and 
wrote  a  playful  letter  to  accompany  it,  signed  "Tour  best 
and  most  loving  friend,  St.  Marie  Madeleine." 


CHAPTER  XXYin. 

THE  COLONEL  CONTINUES  TO  BE  LED  INTO  TEMPTATION. 

On  the  cars  between  New  York  and  Washington  Carter 
encountered  the  Governor  of  Barataria.  After  the  custom- 
ary compliments  had  been  exchanged,  after  the  Governor 
had  acknowledged  the  services  of  the  famous  Tenth  and 
the  Colonel  had  eulogized  the  good  old  State,  the  latter 
spoke  of  the  vacant  lieutenant-colonelcy  in  the  reo-iment 
and  asked  that  it  might  be  given  to  Colburne.         °  ' 

"But  I  have  promised  that  to  Mr.  Gazaway,"  said  the 
Governor,  looking  slightly  troubled. 

"To  Gazaway  !"  roared  Carter  in  wathful  astonishment. 

What!  to  the  same  Gazaway?  Why— Governor— are 
you  aware— are  you  perfectly  aware  why  he  left  the  red- 
ment  ?"  ° 

The  Governor's  countenance  became  still  more  troubled 
but  did  not  lose  its  habitual  expression  of  mild  obstinacy' 

n  1      Z^l'^  ^''^'^'"  ^^  ^^^'^  ^^^tly.     "  It  is  a  very  mis- 
erable affair."  "^ 

"Miserable!      It  is  to  the  last  degree  scandalous.     I 
never  heard  of  anything  so  utterly  contemptible  as  this 

leilows  behavior.     Yon  certamly  cannot  know If 

you  did,  you  wouldn't  think  of  letting  this  infernal  pol- 
troon back  mto  the  regiment.  He  ought  to  have  been  court- 
martialed.  It  is  a  cursed  shame  that  he  was  not  shot  for 
misbehavior  in  presence  of  the  enemy.  Let  me  tell  you  his 
story."  •' 

R 


386  Miss     Ravenel's     Cox  version 

The  Governor  liad  an  air  which  seemed  to  say  that  it 
would  be  of  no  use  to  tell  lum  anything ;  but  he  folded  his 
hands,  bowed  his  head,  crossed  his  legs,  put  a  pastille  in 
his  mouth,  and  meekly  composed  himself  to  listen. 

"  This  Gazaway  is  the  greatest  coward  that  I  ever  saw," 
pursued  the  Colonel.  "  I  positively  think  he  must  be  the 
greatest  coward  that  ever  lived.  At  Georgia  Landing  he 
left  his  horse,  and  dodged,  and  ducked,  and  squatted  be- 
hind the  line  in  such  a  contemptible  way  that  I  came  near 
rapping  him  over  the  head  with  the  flat  of  my  sabre.  At 
Camp  Beasland  he  shammed  sick,  and  skulked  about  the 
hospitals,  whimpering  for  medicine.  I  sent  in  charges 
against  him  then ;  but  they  got  lost,  I  believe,  on  the 
march  ;  at  any  rate,  they  never  turned  up.  At  Port  Hud- 
son I  released  him  from  arrest,  and  ordered  him  into  the 
fight,  hoping  he  would  get  shot.  I  privately  told  the  sur- 
geon not  to  excuse  him,  and  I  told  the  blackguard  himself 
that  he  must  face  the  music.  But  he  ran  away  the  mo- 
ment the  brigade  came  under  tire.  He  was  picked  up  at 
the  hospital  by  the  provost-guard,  and  sent  to  the  regiment 
in  its  advanced  position.  The  ofiicers  refused  to  obey  his 
orders  unless  he  proved  his  courage  first  by  taking  a  rifle 
and  fighting  in  the  trenches.  They  equipped  him,  but  he 
wouldn't  fight.  He  trembled  from  head  to  foot,  said  he 
didn't  know  how  to  load  his  gun,  said  he  was  sick,  cried. 
Then  they  kicked  him  out  of  camp — actually  and  literally 
booted  him  out — put  the  leather  to  him,  sir.  That  is  the 
last  time  that  he  was  seen  with  the  regiment.  He  was 
next  picked  up  in  the  hospitals  of  Xew  Orleans,  and  sent 
to  the  front  by  Emory,  who  would  have  shot  him  if  he  had 
known  what  he  was.  He  was  in  command  of  Fort  Win- 
throp,  and  wanted  to  surrender  at  the  first  summons. 
Xothing  but  the  high  spirit  of  his  officers,  and  the  gallantry 
of  the  whole  garrison,  saved  the  fort  from  its  own  com- 
mander. I  tell  you,  sir,  that  he  is  a  redemptionless  sneak. 
He  is  a  disgrace  to  the  regiment,  and  to  the  State,  and  to 
the  country.     He  is  a  disgrace  to  every  man  in  both  ser- 


From     Secession    to     Loyalty.  387 

vices — to  evey  man  who  calls  himself  an  American.  And 
you  propose  to  restore  him  to  the  regiment !" 

The  Governor  sighed,  and  looked  very  sad,  but  at  the 
same  time  as  meekly  determined  as  Moses. 

"  My  dear  Colonel,  I  knew  it  all,"  he  said.  "  But  I 
think  I  am  right.  I  think  I  am  acting  out  our  American 
prmciple — the  greatest  good  of  the  greatest  number.  I 
must  beg  your  patient  hearing  and  your  secrecy.  In  the 
first  place,  Gazaway  is  not  to  keep  the  commission.  It  is 
merely  given  to  whitewash  him.  He  will  accept  it,  and 
then  resign  it.     That  is  all  understood." 

"  But  what  the do  you  Avant  to  whitewash  him  for? 

He  ought  to  be  gibbeted." 

"  I  know.  Very  true.  But  see  here.  We  must  carry 
the  elections.  We  must  have  the  government  supported 
by  the  people.  We  must  give  the  administration  a  clear 
majority  in  both  houses  of  Congress.  Otherwise,  you  see, 
Copperheadism  and  Secession,  false  peace  and  rebellion  will 
triumph." 

But  the  way  to  carry  the  elections  is  to  whip  the  rebels, 
my  God ! — to  have  the  best  officers  and  the  best  army,  and 
win  all  the  victories,  my  God !" 

The  Governor  smiled  as  if  from  habit,  but  pursued  his 
own  course  of  reasoning  resolutely,  without  noticmg  the 
new  argument.  His  spunk  was  rising  a  little,  and  he  had 
no  small  amount  of  domination  in  him,  not-^dthstandino- 
his  amiability. 

"  Now  Gazaway's  Congressional  district  is  a  close  one," 
he  continued,  "  and  we  fear  that  his  assistance  is  necessary 
to  enable  us  to  carry  it.  I  grieve  to  think  that  it  is  so. 
It  is  not  our  fault.  It  is  the  fault  of  those  men  who  will 
vote  a  disloyal  ticket.  Well,  he  demands  that  we  shall 
whitewash  him  by  givmg  him  a  step  up  from  his  old  com- 
mission. On  that  condition  he  agrees  to  insure  us  the  dis- 
trict.    Then  he  is  to  resign," 

"My  God!  what  a  disgraceful  muddle!"  was  Carter's 
indio-nant  comment. 


388         Miss      IIavexel's     Conveksion 

The  Governor  looked  almost  provoked  at  seeing  that  the 
Colonel  would  not  appreciate  his  difficulties  and  necessities. 

"  I  sacrifice  my  own  feelings  in  this  matter,"  he  insisted. 
"  I  assure  you  that  it  is  a  most  painful  step  for  me  to 
take." 

He  forgot  that  he  was  also  sacrificing  the  feelings  of 
Captain  Colburne  and  of  other  deserving  officers  in  the 
gallant  Tenth. 

I  wouldn't  take  the  step,"  returned  the  Colonel.  "  I'd 
let  the  election  go  to  hell  before  I'd  take  it.  If  that  is  the 
way  elections  are  carried,  let  us  have  done  with  them,  and 
pray  for  a  depotism." 

After  this  speech  there  was  a  silence  of  some  minutes. 
Each  of  these  men  was  a  wonder  to  the  other ;  each  of 
them  ought  to  have  been  a  wonder  to  himself  The  Gov- 
ernor knew  that  Carter  was  a  roue,  a  hard  drmker,  some- 
thing of  a  Dugald  Dalgetty  ;  and  he  could  not  understand 
his  professional  chivalry,  his  passion  for  the  honor  of  the 
service,  his  bitter  hatred  of  cowards.  The  Colonel  knew 
the  Governor's  upright  moral  character  as  an  individual, 
and  was  amazed  that  such  a  man  could  condescend  to  what 
he  considered  dirty  trickery.  In  one  respect,  Carter  had 
the  highest  moral  standpoints.  He  did  vrrong  to  please 
himself,  but  it  was  under  the  pressure  of  overwhelming 
impulse,  and  he  paid  for  it  m  frank  remorse.  The  other 
did  wrong  after  calm  deliberation,  sadly  regrettmg  the 
alleged  necessity,  but  chloroformmg  his  conscience  with 
the  plea  of  that  necessity.  He  was  at  bottom  a  well-inten- 
tioned and  honorable  man,  but  blinded  by  long  confine- 
ment in  the  dark  labyrinths  of  political  intrigue,  as  the 
fishes  of  the  Mammoth  Cave  are  eyeless  through  the  lack 
of  light.  He  would  have  shrunk  with  horror  from  Carter 
had  he  known  of  that  affiiiir  with  Madame  Larue.  At  the 
same  time  he  could  commission  a  known  coward  above  the 
lieads  of  heroes,  to  carry  a  Congressional  district.  And,  m 
order  that  we  may  not  be  too  hard  upon  him,  let  us  con- 
sider his  difficulties ;  let  us  suppose  that  he  had  elevated 


JB'eom    Secession    to    Loyalty.         389 

the  Bayard  and  thrown  the  Bardolph  overboard.  In  the 
first  place  all  the  wire-pullers  of  his  foUowmg  would  have 
been  down  upon  him  ^^th  arguments  and  appeals,  begging 
him  in  the  name  of  the  party,  of  the  country,  of  liberty,  not 
to  lose  the  election.  His  own  candidate  in  the  doubtful 
district,  an  old  and  ultimate  friend,  would  have  said,  "  You 
have  ruined  my  chances."  All  the  capitalists  and  manufac- 
turers who  depended  on  this  candidate  to  get  this  or  that 
axe  sharpened  on  the  Congressional  grindstone,  would  have 
added  their  outcries  to  the  lamentation.  Thinking  of  all 
this,  and  thinking  too  of  the  Copperheads,  and  what  they 
would  be  sure  to  do  if  they  triumphed,  he  felt  that  Avhat 
he  had  decided  on'  was  for  the  best,  and  that  he  must  do  it. 
Gazaway  must  have  the  lieutenant-colonelcy  until  the 
sprmg  election  was  over  ;  and  then,  and  not  before,  he  must 
make  way  for  some  honorable  man  and  brave  officer. 

"  But  how  can  this  fellow  have  such  a  political  influ- 
ence ?"  queried  the  Colonel.  "  It  ought  to  be  easy  enough 
to  expose  him  in  the  newspapers,  and  smash  him." 

"  The  two  hundred  men  or  so  who  vote  as  he  says  never 
read  the  newspapers,  and  wouldn't  believe  the  exposure." 

"  There  is  the  majority  left,"  observed  Carter,  after  ano- 
ther pause.  "  Captain  Colburne  might  have  that — if  he 
would  take  promotion  under  Gazaway." 

"I  have  given  that  to  my  nephew,  Captain  Rathbun," 
said  the  Governor,  blushing. 

He  was  not  ashamed  of  his  political  log-rollmg  with  a 
vulgar  coward,  but  he  was  a  little  discomposed  at  confess- 
uig  his  very  pardonable  and  perhaps  justifiable  nepotism. 

"  Captain  Rathbun,"  he  pursued  hastily,  "  has  been 
strongly  recommended  by  all  the  superior  officers  of  his 
corps.  There  is  no  chance  of  promotion  in  the  cavalry,  as 
our  State  has  only  furnished  three  companies.  I  have 
therefore  transferred  him  to  the  infantry,  and  I  placed  him 
in  your  regiment  because  there  were  two  vacancies." 

"Then  my  recommendation  goes  for  nothing,"  said 
Carter,  in  gloomy  discontent. 


390         Miss     R  aye  x  el's     Conveksiox 

"  Really,  Colonel,  I  must  have  some  authority  in  these 
matters.  I  am  called  commander-in-chief  of  the  forces 
of  the  State.  I  am  sorry  if  it  annoys  you.  But  there  will 
be — I  assure  you  there  will  soon  be — a  vacancy  for  Cap- 
tain Colburne." 

"  But  he  will  have  to  come  in  under  your  nephew,  I 
suppose." 

"  I  suppose  so.  I  don't  see  how  it  can  be  otherwise. 
But  it  will  be  no  disgrace  to  him,  I  assure  you.  lie  will 
find  Major  Rathbun  an  admirable  officer  and  a  comrade 
perfectly  to  his  taste.  He  graduated  from  the  University 
only  a  year  after  Captain  Colburne." 

"  Excuse  me  if  I  leave  you  for  half  an  hour,"  observed 
Carter,  without  attempting  to  conceal  his  disgust.  "  I 
want  to  step  into  the  smoking-car  and  take  a  segar." 

"  Certainly,"  bowed  the  Governor,  and  resumed  his 
newspaper.  He  was  used  to  such  unpleasant  interviews 
as  this  ;  and  after  drawing  a  tired  sigh  over  it,  he  was  all 
tranquillity  agam.  The  Colonel  was  too  profoundly  in- 
furiated to  return  to  his  companion  during  the  rest  of  the 
journey,  much  as  he  wanted  his  influence  to  back  up  his 
own  application  for  promotion. 

"  Horrible  shame,  by  Jove  !"  he  muttered,  while  chew- 
ing rather  than  smoking  his  segar.  "  I  wish  the  whole 
thing  Avas  in  the  hands  of  the  AYar  Department.  Damn 
the  States  and  their  rights  !  I  ^vish,  by  (this  and  that) 
that  we  were  centralized." 

Thus  illogically  ruminated  the  "West  Pointer ;  not  see- 
ing that  the  good  is  not  bad  merely  because  it  may  be 
abused  ;  not  seeing  that  Centralism  is  sure  to  be  more  cor- 
rupt than  Federalism.  The  reader  knows  that  such  cases  as 
that  of  Gazaway  were  not  common.  They  existed,  but 
they  were  exceptional ;  they  were  sporadic,  and  not  symp- 
tomatic. In  general  the  military  nominations  of  the  Gov- 
ernor did  honor  to  his  heart  and  his  head.  It  was  Col- 
burne's  accidental  misfortune  that  his  State  contained  one 
or  two  doubtful  districts,  and  that  one  of  them  was  in  the 


Froim     Secession     to     Loyalty.        391 

liands,  or  was  supposed  to  be  iii  the  hands,  of  his  contempt- 
ible superior  officer.  In  almost  any  other  Baratarian  regi- 
ment the  intelligent,  educated,  brave  and  honorable  young 
captain  Avould  have  been  sure  of  promotion. 

Carter  was  troubled  with  a  foreboding  that  his  own 
claims  would  meet  with  as  little  recognition  as  those  of 
Colburne.  He  took  plain  whiskeys  at  nearly  every  stop- 
ping-place, and  reached  Washington  more  than  half  drunk, 
but  still  in  low  spirits.  Sobered  and  rested  by  a  night's 
sleep,  he  delivered  his  dispatches,  was  bowed  out  by  Gen- 
eral Halleck,  and  then  sought  out  a  resident  Congressional 
friend,  and  held  a  frank  colloquy  with  him  concernmg  the 
attainment  of  the  desired  star. 

"  You  see,  Colonel,  that  you  are  a  marked  man,"  said 
the  M.  C.  "  You  have  been  known  to  say  that  the  war 
will  last  five  years." 

"  Well,  it  will.  It  has  lasted  nearly  three,  and  it  will 
kick  for  two  more.  I  ought  to  be  promoted,  by  (this  and 
that)  for  my  sagacity." 

"  Just  so,"  laughed  the  M.  C.  "  But  you  won't  be.  The 
trouble  is  that  you  say  just  what  the  Copperheads  say ; 
and  you  get  credit  for  the  same  motives.  It  is  urged, 
moreover,  that  men  like  you  discourage  the  nation  and 
cheer  the  rebels." 

"  By  Jove  !  I'd  like  to  see  the  rebel  who  would  be 
cheered  by  the  news  that  the  war  will  last  two  years 
longer." 

The  honorable  member  laughed  again,  in  recognition  of 
the  hit,  and  proceeded  : 

"  Then  there  is  that  old  filibustering  afiair.  When  you 
went  into  that  you  were  not  so  good  a  prophet  as  you  are 
now  ;  and  m  fact  it  is  a  very  unfortunate  afiair  at  present ; 
it  stands  in  your  way  confoundedly.  In  fact,  you  are  not 
a  favorite  with  our  left  wing — our  radicals.  The  President 
is  all  right.  The  War  Department  is  all  right.  They  ad- 
mit your  faithfulness,  ability  and  services.  It  is  the  Sen- 
ate that  knocks  you.    I  am  afraid  you  will  have  to  wait 


392  IMiss    Ravenel's    Conversion 

for  sometliing  to  turn  up.  In  fact,  I  don't  see  my  way  to  a 
confirmation  yet." 

Carter  swore,  groaned,  and  chewed  his  cigar  to  a  pulp. 

"  But  don't  be  discouraged,"  pursued  the  M.  C.  "  We 
have  brought  over  two  or  three  of  the  radicals  to  your 
side.  Three  or  four  more  will  do  the  job.  Then  we  can 
get  a  nomination  with  assurance  of  a  confii-mation.  I 
promise  you  it  shall  be  attended  to  at  the  first  chance.  But 
you  must  come  out  strong  against  slavery.  Abolition  is 
your  card.    New  converts  must  be  zealous,  you  know." 

"  By  Jove,  I  am  strong.  I  didn't  believe  in  arming  the 
negro  once ;  but  I  do  now.  It  was  a  good  movement. 
I'll  take  a  black  brigade." 

"  Will  you  ?"  Then  you  can  have  a  white  one,  I  guess. 
By  the  way,  perhaps  you  can  do  something  for  yourself 
A  good  many  of  the  Members  are  m  town  already.  I'll 
take  you  around — show  you  to  friends  and  enemies.  In 
fact  you  can  do  something  for  yourself" 

Carter  did  something  in  the  way  of  treatmg,  giving 
game-suppers,  flattering  and  talking  anti-slavery,  smiling 
outwardly  the  while,  but  ^'ithin  full  of  bitterness.  It 
seemed  to  him  a  gross  injustice  that  the  destiny  of  a  man 
who  had  fought  should  be  ruled  by  people  who  slept  in 
good  beds  every  night  and  had  never  heard  a  bullet  whis- 
tle. He  thought  that  he  was  demeanmg  himself  by  bow- 
ing down  to  members  of  Congress  and  State  wire-pullers ; 
but  he  was  driven  to  it  by  his  professional  rage  for  promo- 
tion, and  still  more  urgently  by  the  necessity  of  increasing 
his  income.  When  he  left  Washington  after  the  two 
weeks'  stay  which  was  permitted  to  him,  his  nomination  to 
a  brigadiership  was  proinised,  and  he  had  strong  hopes  of 
obtaining  the  Senatorial  confirmation.  At  Xew  York  he 
called  on  Mrs.  Larue.  He  had  not  meant  to  do  it  when 
he  quitted  the  virtuous  capital  of  the  nation,  but  as  he  ap- 
proached her  he  felt  drawn  towards  her  by  something 
stronger  than  the  engine.  Moreover,  he  thought  to  him- 
self that  she  might  do  something  for  his  promotion  if  she 


Feom    Secession    to    Loyalty.       393 

could  be  induced  to  go  to  Washington  and  try  the  ponder- 
osity of  the  United  States  Senate  with  that  powerful  social 
lever  of  hers,  la  sainte  jmssio??,  etc. 

"  Why  didn't  you  tell  me  this  before  ?"  she  exclaimed. 
"  Why  were  you  not  frank  with  me,  mo?i  ami  ?  I  would 
have  gone.  I  would  have  worked  day  and  night  for  you. 
I  would  have  had  such  fun  !  It  would  have  been  delicious 
to  humbug  those  abolitionist  Senators.  I  would  have  been 
the  ruin  of  Mr.  Sumnaire  and  Mr.  Weelsone.  There  would 
have  been  yet  more  books  dedicated  to  Sainte  Marie  Made- 
leme." 

She  burst  into  a  laugh  at  these  jolly  ideas,  and  waltzed 
about  the  room  with  a  mimicry  of  love-making  in  her  eyes 
and  gestures. 

"  But  T  can  not  go  alone,  you  perceive  ;  do  you  not  ?" 
she  resumed,  sitting  down  by  his  side  and  laying  one  hand 
caressingly  on  his  shoulder.  "  I  should  have  no  position 
alone,  and  there  is  not  the  time  for  me  to  create  one. 
Moreover,  I  have  paid  for  my  passage  to  New  Orleans  in 
the  Mississijipi." 

"  Well,  we  shall  be  together,"  said  Carter.  "  That  is 
my  boat.  But  what  a  cursed  fool  I  was  in  not  taking  you 
to  WashiQo;ton !" 

"  Certainly  you  were,  mon  ami.  It  is  most  regrettable. 
It  is  desespirantP 

As  far  as  these  two  were  concerned,  the  voyage  south 
was  much  like  the  latter  part  of  the  voyage  north,  except 
that  Carter  sufiered  less  from  self-reproach,  and  was  gen- 
erally in  higher  spirits.  He  had  not  money  enough  left  to 
pay  for  his  meals  and  wine,  but  he  did  not  hesitate  to  bor- 
row a  hundred  dollars  from  the  widow,  and  she  lent  it 
^vith  her  usual  amiability. 

"  You  shall  have  all  I  can  spare,"  she  said.  "  I  only 
wisli  to  live  and  dress  comme  il  faut.  You  are  always 
welcome  to  what  remains." 

What  could  the  unfortunate  man  do  but  be  grateful  ? 
Mrs.  Larue  began  to  govern  him  with  a  mild  and  insinuat- 

E2 


394  Miss     Ravexel's     Conversion 

ing  domination ;  and,  strange  to  say,  her  empire  was  not 
altogether  injurious.  She  corrected  him  of  a  number  of 
the  bearish  ways  which  lie  had  insensilily  acquired  by  life 
in  the  army,  and  wliich  his  wife  had  not  dared  to  call  his 
attention  to,  worshij^ping  him  too  sincerely.  She  laughed 
him  out  of  his  swearing,  and  scolded  him  out  of  most  of  his 
drinking.  She  mended  his  stockings,  trimmed  the  frayed 
ends  of  his  necktie,  saw  to  it  that  his  clothes  were  brushed  ; 
in  short,  she  greatly  improved  his  personal  appearance, 
which  had  grown  somewhat  shabby  under  the  influences 
of  travellmg  and  carousing;  for  the  Colenel  was  one  of 
those  innumerable  male  creatures  who  always  go  to  seedi- 
ness  as  soon  as  womankmd  ceases  to  care  for  them.  With 
him  she  had  no  more  need  of  coquetries  and  sentimental 
prattle ;  and  she  treated  him  very  much  as  a  wife  of  five 
years'  standing  treats  her  husband.  She  was  amiable, 
pains-taking,  petting,  slightly  exacting,  slightly  critical, 
moderately  chatty,  moderately  loving.  They  led  a  peace- 
able, domestic  sort  of  life,  i^ithout  much  regard  to 
secrecy,  ^vithout  much  terror  at  the  continual  danger  of 
discovery.  They  were  old  sinners  enough  to  feel  and  be- 
have much  like  innocent  people.  Carter's  remorse,  it  must 
be  observed,  had  arisen  entirely  from  his  affection  for  his 
wife,  and  his  shame  at  having  proved  unworthy  of  her 
afi'ectionate  confidence,  and  not  at  all  from  any  sense  of 
doing  an  injury  to  Mrs.  Larue,  nor  from  a  tenderness  of 
conscience  concerning  the  abstract  question  of  right  and 
wi'ong.  Consequently,  after  the  first  humiliation  of  his  fall 
was  a  little  numbed  by  time,  he  could  be  quite  comfort- 
able in  spirit. 

But  his  uneasiness  awakened  at  the  sight  of  Lillie,  and 
the  pressure  of  her  joyful  embrace.  The  meeting,  aftection- 
ate  as  it  seemed  on  both  sides,  gave  him  a  very  miserable 
kmd  of  happiness.  He  did  not  turn  his  eyes  to  Mrs. 
Larue,  who  stood  by  with  a  calm,  pleased  smile.  He  was 
led  away  in  triumph ;  he  was  laid  on  the  best  sofa  and 
woi-shipped  ;  he  was  a  king,  and  a  god  in  the  eyes  of  that 


From     Secession    to     Loyalty.         395 

pure  wife  ;  but  he  was  a  very  unhappy,   and  shamefaced 
deity. 

"  Oh,  what  charming  letters  you  wrote !"  whispered 
Lillie.  "  IIow  good  you  were  to  write  so  often,  and  to 
write  such  sweet  thmgs  !  They  were  such  a  comfort  to 
me  !" 

Carter  was  a  little  consoled.  He  had  written  often  and 
affectionately ;  he  had  tried  in  that  way  to  make  amends 
for  a  concealed  wrong  ;  and  he  was  heartily  glad  to  find 
that  he  had  made  her  happy. 

"  Oh,  my  dear  child  !"  he  said.  "  I  am  so  delighted  if  I 
have  given  you  any  pleasure  !" 

He  spoke  this  with  such  a  sigh,  almost  a  groan,  that  she 
looked  at  him  m  wonder  and  anxiety. 

"  What  is  the  matter,  my  darling  ?"  she  asked.  "  What 
makes  you  sad  ?  Have  you  failed  in  gettmg  your  promo- 
tion ?  Xever  mind.  I  will  love  you  to  make  up  for  it. 
I  know,  and  you  know,  that  you  deserve  it.  We  will  be 
just  as  happy." 

"  Perhaps  I  have  not  altogether  failed,"  he  replied,  glad 
to  change  the  subject.  "  I  have  some  hoj^esyet  of  getting 
good  news." 

"  Oh,  that  will  be  so  delightful !  Won't  it  be  nice  to 
be  prosperous  as  well  as  happy !  I  shall  be  so  overjoyed 
on  your  account !     I  shall  be  too  proud  to  live." 

In  his  lonely  meditations  Carter  frequently  tried  himself 
at  the  bar  of  his  strange  conscience,  and  struggled  hard  to 
gain  a  verdict  of  not  guilty.  What  could  a  fellow  do,  he 
asked,  when  a  woman  would  persist  in  flinging  herself  at 
his  head  ?  He  honestly  thought  that  most  men  would 
have  done  as  he  did ;  that  no  one  but  a  religious  fanatic 
could  have  resisted  so  much  temptation  ;  and  that  such  re- 
sistance would  have  been  altogether  ungentlemanly.  To 
atone  for  his  wrong  he  was  most  tender  to  his  wife ;  he 
followed  her  with  attentions,  and  loaded  her  with  presents. 
As  the  same  time  that  he  had  a  guilt  upon  his  soul  Avhich 
might  have  killed  her  had  she  discovered  it,  he  would  not 


396         Miss    Raven  el  s     Conversion 

stint  her  wardrobe,  nor  forget  to  kiss  her  every  time  he 
went  out,  nor  fail  to  bring  her  bouquets  every  evening. 
He  has  been  known  to  leave  his  bed  at  midnight  and 
walk  the  street  for  hours,  driving  away  dogs  whose  howl- 
ing prevented  her  from  sleeping.  Deeds  like  this  were 
his  penance,  his  expiation,  his  consolation. 

He  was  now  on  duty  in  the  city.  High  Authority,  de- 
termined to  make  amends  for  the  neglect  with  wliich  this 
excellent  officer  was  treated,  offered  him  the  best  thmg 
which  it  had  now  to  give,  the  chief-quart ermastership  of 
the  Department  of  the  Gulf  His  pay  would  thereby  be 
largely  increased  in  consequence  of  his  legal  commutations 
for  rooms  and  fuel,  besides  which  there  was  a  chance  of 
securing  large  extra-official  gleanings  from  such  a  broad 
field  of  labor  and  responsibility.  But  Carter  realized  little 
out  of  his  position.  He  could  keep  his  accounts  of  Gov- 
ernment property  correctly  ;  but  except  in  his  knowledge 
of  returns,  and  vouchers,  and  his  clerk-like  accuracy,  he 
was  not  properly  speaking  a  man  of  busmess ;  that  is  to 
say,  he  had  no  faculty  for  making  money.  He  was  too 
professionally  honorable  to  lend  Government  funds  to 
speculators  for  the  sake  of  a  share  of  the  profits.  He  would 
not  descend  to  the  well-known  trickery  of  getting  public 
property  condemned  to  auction,  and  then  buying  it  in  for 
a  sono:  to  sell  it  at  an  advance.  In  the  case  of  a  sinc^le 
wagon  he  might  do  something  of  the  sort  in  order  to  rec- 
tify his  balances  m  the  item  of  wagons ;  or  he  might  make 
a  certificate  of  theft  in  a  small  aflair  of  trousers  or  havre- 
sacks  which  had  been  lost  through  negligence,  or  issued 
without  a  receipt.  But  to  such  straits  officers  were  fre- 
quently driven  by  the  responsibility  system  ;  he  sheltered 
himself  under  the  plea  of  necessity ;  and  did  nothing  worse. 
In  fact,  his  position  was  a  temptation  without  bemg 
a  benefit. 

It  was  a  serious  temptation.  A  great  deal  of  money 
passed  through  his  hands.  He  paid  out,  and  received  on 
account  of  the  Government,  thousands  of  dollars  daily ; 


Feom    Secession    to    Loyalty.        397 

and  the  mere  handling  of  snch  considerable  sums  made 
him  feel  as  if  he  were  a  great  capitalist.  Money  was  an 
every  day,  vulgar  commodity,  and  he  spent  it  with  profu- 
sion. Before  he  had  been  in  his  j)lace  two  months  he  was 
worm-eaten,  leaky,  sinkmg  with  debts.  No  one  hesitated 
to  trust  a  man  who  had  charge  over  such  an  abounding 
source  of  wealth  as  the  chief-quartermastership  of  the  De- 
partment of  the  Gulf.  He  lived  sumptuously,  drank  good 
wines,  smoked  the  best  segars,  and  marketed  for  the  Rav- 
enel  table  in  his  own  name,  blaspheming  the  expense 
whether  of  cost  or  credit.  Remembering  that  his  wife 
needed  gentle  exercise,  and  had  a  right  to  every  comfort 
which  he  could  furnish,  he  gave  her  a  carriage,  and  pair 
of  ponies,  and  of  course  set  up  a  coachman. 

"Can  you  afford  it,  my  dear?"  asked  Lillie,  a  little 
anxious,  for  she  was  aware  of  his  tendency  to  extrava- 
gance. 

"  I  can  afford  anything,  my  little  one,  rather  than  the 
loss  of  you,"  replied  the  Colonel  after  a  moment's  hesita- 
tion. 

She  wanted  to  believe  that  all  was  well,  and  therefore 
the  task  of  comdncing  her  was  easy.  Her  trust  was  con- 
stant, and  her  adoration  fervent ;  they  were  symj^tomatic 
of  her  physical  condition  ;  they  were  for  the  present  laws 
of  her  nature.  It  was  more  than  usually  painful  to  her 
now  to  be  separated  long  from  her  deity.  When  he  went 
out  it  was,  "  Where  are  you  going  ?  When  will  you  come 
back  ?" — When  he  returned  it  was,  "  How  long  you  have 
been  gone !  Oh,  I  though  you  would  come  an  hour 
ago  ?"  It  was  childish,  but  she  did  not  perceive  it,  and  if 
she  had,  she  could  not  have  helped  it.  She  clung  to  him, 
and  longed  after  him  because  she  must ;  there  was  a  bond 
of  unity  between  them  which  clasped  her  inmost  life. 

Meanwhile  how  about  Mrs.  Lame  ?  'No  one  could  have 
been  more  discreet,  more  corruptly  sagacious,  more  sun- 
nily amiable,  than  this  singular  woman.  She  petted  Lillie 
like  a  child,  helped  her  in  her  abundant  sewing  labors, 


398  Miss     Ravexel's     Cox  version 

brought  her  as  many  bouquets  as  the  Colonel  himself, 
scolded  her  for  huprudencies,  forbade  this  dish  and  recom- 
mended that,  laughed  at  her  occasional  despondencies,  and 
cheered  her  as  women  know  how  to  cheer  each  other.  She 
seemed  like  the  truest  friend  of  the  young  woman  whom 
she  would  not  have  hesitated  much  to  rob  of  her  husband, 
provided  she  could  have  wished  to  do  it.  This  kindness 
was  not  hypocrisy,  but  simple,  unforced  good  nature.  It 
was  natural,  and  therefore,  agreeable  to  her  to  be  amiable  ; 
and  as  she  always  did  what  she  liked  to  do,  she  was  a 
pattern  of  amiability.  To  have  quarrded  seriously  "wdth 
Lillie  would  have  been  a  downright  annoyance  to  her,  and 
consequently  she  avoided  every  chance  of  a  disagreement, 
so  far  at  least  as  was  consistent  with  her  private  pleasures. 
She  had  not  the  slightest  notion  of  elo^Ding  with  the  Colonel ; 
she  did  not  take  passions  sufficiently  aic  grand  sericux  for 
that ;  she  would  not  have  isolated  herself  from  society  for 
any  man. 

Xot withstanding  Mrs.  Larue's  sugar  mask  Lillie  was  at 
times  disposed  to  fight  her ;  not,  however,  in  the  slightest 
degree  on  account  of  her  husband  ;  only  on  account  of  her 
father.  The  sly  Creole,  partly  for  her  own  amusement  in- 
deed, but  chiefly  to  divert  suspicion  from  her  familiarity 
with  Carter,  commenced  a  coquettish  attack  upon  the 
Doctor.  Lillie  was  sometimes  in  a  desperate  fright  lest 
she  should  entrap  him  into  a  marriage.  She  thought  that 
she  understood  Mrs.  Larue  perfectly,  and  she  felt  quite 
certain  that  she  was  by  no  means  good  enough  for  her 
father.  In  her  estimation  there  never  was  a  man,  unless 
it  might  be  her  husband,  who  was  so  good,  so  noble,  so 
charming  as  this  parent  of  hers ;  and  if  she  had  been  called 
on  to  select  a  wife  for  him,  I  doubt  whether  any  woman 
could  have  passed  the  examination  to  which  she  would 
have  subjected  the  candidates. 

"  I  perfectly  spoil  you,  papa,"  she  said,  laughing.  "  I 
pet  you  and  admire  you  till  I  suppose  I  shall  end  by  ruin- 
ing  you.      If  ever    you    go    out    into   the    world   alone, 


Fro:m     Secessiox     to     Loyalty.  399 

what  will  become  of  you  ?  You  will  miss  my  care  dread- 
fully. You  mustn't  leave  me ;  it's  for  your  own  good — 
hear  ?  You  mustn't  trust  yourself  to  anybody  else — hear  ?" 

"I  hear,  my  child,"  answers  the  Doctor.  "What  a 
charming  little  Gold  Coast  accent  you  have  !" 

"  Pshaw !  It  isn't  negro  at  all.  Everybody  talks  so. 
But  I  wonder  if  you  are  trying  to  change  the  subject." 

"  Really  I  wasn't  aware  of  a  subject  being  presented  for 
my  consideration." 

"  Oh,  you  don't  understand,  or  you  won't  understand. 
I  do  believe  you  have  a  guilty  conscience." 

"  A  guilty  conscience  about  what,  my  child  ?  Have  the 
kindness  to  speak  plainly.     My  mind  is  getting  feeble." 

"  Ain't  you  ashamed  to  ask  me  to  speak  plainly  ?  I 
don't  want  to  speak  plainly.  Do  you  actually  want  to 
have  me?" 

"  If  it  wouldn't  overpower  your  reason,  I  should  like  it. 
It  would  be  such  a  convenience  to  me." 

"  Well,  I  mean,  papa,"  said  Lillie,  coloring  at  her  auda- 
city, "  that  I  don't  like  Mrs.  Larue  !" 

"  Don't  like  Mrs.  Larue  !  Why,  she  is  as  kind  to  you  as 
she  can  possibly  be.  I  thought  you  were  on  the  best  of 
terms." 

"  I  mean  that  I  don't  like  her  well  enough  to  call  her 
Mamma." 

"  Call  her  Mamma  !"  repeated  the  Doctor,  staring  over  his 
spectacles  in  amazement.  "You  don't  mean? — upon  my 
honor,  you  are  too  nonsensical,  Lillie." 

"  Am  I  ?  Oh,  I  am  so  delighted  !"  exclaimed  Lillie  ea- 
gerly.   "  But  I  luas  so  afraid." 

"  Do  you  think  I  am  in  my  dotage  ?"  inquired  the  Doc- 
tor, almost  indignant. 

"  Xo  no,  papa.  Don't  be  vexed  with  me.  I  dare  say  it 
was  very  absurd  in  me.  But  I  do  think  she  is  so  artful 
and  designing." 

"  She  is  a  curious  woman,  we  know,"  observed  Ravenel. 
"  She  certainly  has  some — peculiarities." 


400         Miss     Rayexel's     Cox  version 

Lillie  laughed  outright,  and  said,  "  Oh  yes,"  Tvith  a  gay- 
little  air  of  satire. 

"  But  she  is  too  young  to  think  of  me,"  pursued  the  Doc- 
tor.   "  She  can't  be  more  than  tvventy-five." 

"Papa!!"  protested  Lillie.  "  She  is  thir— ty  !  Have 
you  lost  your  memory  ?" 

"  Thirty  !  Is  it  possible  ?  Really,  I  am  growing  old. 
I  am  constantly  understating  other  people's  ages.  I  have 
caught  mj'self  at  it  repeatedly.  I  don't  know  whether  it 
is  forgetfulness,  or  inability  to  realize  the  flight  of  time,  or 
an  instinctive  effort  to  make  myself  out  a  modern  by  show- 
ing that  my  intimates  are  youthful.  But  I  am  constantly 
doing  it.  Do  you  recollect  how  I  have  laughed  about 
Elderkin  for  this  same  trick  ?  He  is  always  relating  anec- 
dotes of  his  youth  in  a  way  which  would  lead  you  to  sup- 
pose that  the  events  happened  some  fifteen  or  twenty  years 
ago.  And  yet  he  is  seventy.  I  mustn't  laugh  at  Elderkin 
any  more." 

"  Xonsense  !"  said  Lillie.  "  You  are  not  a  bit  like  him. 
He  blacks  his  hair  to  correspond  with  his  dates.  He  means 
to  humbug  people.    And  then  you  are  not  old." 

"  But,  to  return  to  Mrs.  Larue,"  observed  the  Doctor. 
"  She  has  a  clear  head ;  she  is  pretty  sensible.  She  is  not 
a  woman  to  put  herself  in  a  false  or  ridiculous  j^osition.  I 
really  have  not  observed  anything  of  what  you  hint." 

"  Oh  no.  Of  course  not.  Men  never  do ;  they  are  so 
stupid !  Of  course  you  wouldn't  observe  anythuig  until 
she  went  on  her  knees  and  made  you  a  formal  declaration. 
I  was  afraid  you  might  say,  'Yes,'  in  your  surprise." 

"  My  dear,  don't  talk  in  that  way  of  a  lady.  You  de- 
grade your  own  sex  by  such  jesting." 

However,  the  Doctor  did  in  a  quiet  way  put  himself  on 
his  guard  agamst  Mrs.  Larue ;  and  Lillie,  observmg  this, 
did  also  in  a  quiet  way  feel  quite  elated  over  the  condition 
of  things  in  the  family.  She  was  as  happy  as  she  had  ever 
been,  or  could  desire  to  be.  It  was  a  shocking  state  of 
deception ;  corruption  lilied  over  with  decorum  and  smil- 


Fkom     Secession    to    Loyalty.       401 

ing  amiability  ;  whited  sejjulchres,  apples  of  Sodom,  bloom- 
ing Upas.  Carter  saw  Mrs.  Larue  as  often  as  he  wanted, 
and  even  much  oftener,  in  a  j^riyate  room,  which  even  his 
wife  did  not  know  of,  in  rear  of  his  offices.  Closely  veiled 
she  slipped  in  by  a  back  entrance,  and  reappeared  at  the 
end  of  ten  minutes,  or  an  hour,  or  perhaps  two  hours.  It 
was  after  such  interviews  had  taken  place  that  his  wife 
welcomed  him  with  those  touching  words.  "Oh,  where 
have  you  been  ?    I  thought  you  never  would  come." 

He  would  have  been  glad  to  break  the  evil  charm,  but 
he  was  too  far  gone  to  be  capable  of  virtuous  effort. 


CHAPTER  XXIX. 

LILLIE    EEACHES   THE    APOTHEOSIS    OF  WOMANHOOD. 

WoiiAX  is  more  intimately  and  irresponsibly  a  child  of 
jN'ature  than  man.  She  comes  oftener,  more  completely, 
and  more  evidently  under  the  power  of  influences  which 
she  can  neither  direct  nor  resist,  and  which  make  use  of 
her  without  consulting  her  inclination.  Her  part  then  is 
passive  obedience  and  uncomplaming  suffering,  while 
through  her  the  ends  of  life  are  accomplished.  She  has  no 
choice  but  to  accept  her  beneficent  martyrdom.  Like 
Jesus  of  Xazareth  she  agonzies  that  others  may  live ;  but 
imlike  Him,  she  is  impelled  to  it  by  a  will  higher  than  her 
■  own.  At  the  same  time,  a  loving  spirit  is  given  to  her,  so 
that  she  is  consoled  m  her  own  anguish,  and  does  not  seri- 
ously desire  that  the  cup  may  pass  from  her  before  she  has 
drunk  it  to  the  dregs.  She  has  the  patience  of  the 
lower  animals  and  of  inanimate  nature,  ennobled  by  a 
heavenly  joy  of  self-sacrifice,  a  divine  pleasure  ia  suffering 
for  those  whom  she  loves.  She  is  both  lower  and  hio;her 
than  man,  by  mstmct  rather  than  by  reason,  from  necessity 
i-ather  than  from  choice. 

There  came  a  day  to  Lillie  duiing  which  she  lay  between 


402         Miss     Ravenel's     Conversion 

two  worlds,  not  caring  which  she  entered,  submissive  to 
whatever  might  he,  patient  though  weeping  with  jjain. 
Her  father  did  not  dare  trust  her  to  his  own  care,  but 
called  in  his  old  friend  and  colleague.  Doctor  Elderkin, 
These  two,  with  Carter,  Mrs.  Larue,  and  a  hired  nurse,  did 
not  quit  the  house  for  twenty-four  hours,  and  all  but  the 
husband  and  father  were  almost  constantly  in  the  room  of 
the  invalid.  The  struggle  was  so  long  and  severe  that 
they  thought  it  would  end  in  death.  Xeither  Mrs.  Larue 
nor  the  nurse  slept  during  the  whole  night,  but  relieved 
each  other  at  the  bedside,  holding  by  turns  the  quivering, 
clutching  hand  of  Lillie,  and  fanning  the  crimson  cheeks 
and  the  brow  covered  with  a  cold  sweat  as  of  a  death  agony. 
The  latent  womanlmess  of  Mrs.  Larue,  the  tenderness  which 
did  actually  exist  in  some  small  measure  beneath  her 
smooth  surface  of  amiability  and  coquetry,  was  profoundly 
stirred  by  her  instinctive  sympathy  for  a  suftering  Avhich 
was  all  feminine.  She  remembered  that  same  anguish  in 
her  own  life,  and  lived  it  over  again.  Every  throe  of  the 
sick  girl  seemed  to  penetrate  her  own  body.  She  thought 
of  the  child  which  had  been  given  and  taken  years  ago, 
and  then  she  wiped  away  a  tear,  lest  Lillie  might  see  it 
and  fear  for  herself  Allien  she  was  not  by  the  bedside 
she  stood  at  the  window,  now  looking  for  a  glimpse  of 
dawn  as  if  that  could  bring  any  hope,  and  then  turning  to 
craze  at  the  tossing^  invalid. 

The  Doctor  only  once  allowed  Carter  to  enter  the  room. 
The  ver}'  expansion  of  Lillie  at  sight  of  him,  the  eagerness 
^Yith.  which  her  soul  reached  out  to  him  for  help,  pity,  love, 
was  perilous.  There  was  danger  that  she  might  say,  "  My 
dear,  good-bye  f  and  in  the  exaltation  of  such  an  impulse 
she  might  have  departed.  As  for  him,  he  had  never  be- 
fore witnessed  a  scene  like  this,  and  he  never  forgot  it. 
His  wife  held  both  his  hands,  clasping  them  spasmodically, 
a  broad  spot  of  fever  in  either  cheek,  the  veins  of  her  fore- 
head SAVollen,  and  her  neck  suffused,  her  eyes  j^reternatur- 
ally  open  and  never  removed  from  his,  her  whole  express- 


Feom     Secessioi^    to     Loyalty.         403 

ion  radiant  with  agony.  The  mortal  pain,  the  supernatural 
expectation,  the  light  of  that  other  world  which  was  so 
near,  spiritualized  her  face,  and  made  it  unhumanly  beauti- 
ful. He  seemed  to  himself  to  be  standing  on  earth  and 
joining  hands  with  her  in  heaven.  He  had  never  before 
reached  so  far ;  never  so  communed  with  another  life.  His 
own  face  was  all  of  this  world,  stern  with  anxiety  and  per- 
haps remorse ;  for  the  moment  was  so  agitating  and  im- 
perious that  he  could  not  direct  his  emotions  nor  veil  his 
expression.  Happy  for  her  that  she  had  no  suspicion  of 
one  thing  which  was  in  his  heart.  She  believed  that  he 
was  solely  tortured  by  fear  that  she  would  die ;  and  if  she 
could  have  thought  to  speak,  she  would  have  comforted 
him.  On  her  own  account  she  did  not  desire  to  live  ;  only 
for  his  sake,  and  for  her  father's,  and  perhaps  a  little  for 
her  child's.  The  old  Doctor  watched  her,  shook  his  head, 
signed  to  the  husband  to  leave  the  room,  and  took  his  wife's 
hands  m  his  place.  As  Carter  went  out  Mrs.  Larue  fol- 
lowed him  a  few  steps  into  the  passage. 

"  What  is  between  you  and  me  must  end,"  she  whisp- 
ered. 

"  Yes,"  he  replied  in  the  same  tone,  and  went  to  his 
room  somewhat  comforted. 

At  seven  in  the  morning  he  was  awakened  by  a  tremulous 
knocking  at  his  door.  Springing  from  the  sofa,  on  which 
he  had  dozed  for  an  hour  or  two  without  undressmg,  he 
opened,  and  encountered  Mrs.  Larue,  pale  with  sleeplessness 
but  smiling  gaily. 

"  T  e;2e^,"  she  said,  speaking  her  mother  tongue  in  her 
haste,  and  hastened  noiselessly,  like  a  swift  sprite,  back  to 
the  sick  room.  Carter  followed,  entered  with  a  sense  of 
awe,  passed  softly  around  the  screen  which  half  encircled 
the  bed,  and  saw  his  Avife  and  child  lying  side  by  side. 
Lillie  was  very  pale ;  her  face  was  still  sj^iritualized  by  the 
Gethsemane  of  the  night ;  but  her  eyes  Avere  still  radiant 
with  a  purely  human  happiness.  She  w^as  in  eager  haste 
to  have  him  drink  at  the  newly-opened  fountain  of  joy. 


404         Miss    Raven  el's    Conveksion 

Even  as  he  stooped  to  kiss  her  slie  could  not  -wait,  but 
turned  lier  head  towards  the  infant  with  a  smile  of  exulta- 
tion and  said,  "  Look  at  him." 

"  But  how  are  you  ?"  he  asked,  anxiously ;  for  a  man 
"does  not  at  once  forget  his  wife  in  his  oftspring ;  and  Car- 
ter had  a  stain  of  remorse  on  his  soul  which  he  needed  to 
wash  away  with  rivers  of  tenderness. 

"  Oh,  I  am  perfectly  well,"  she  answered.  "  Isn't  he 
pretty  ?" 

At  that  moment  the  child  sneezed ;  the  air  of  this  world 
was  too  pungent. 

"  Oh,  take  him  I"  she  exclaimed,  looking  for  the  nurse. 
"  He  is  going  to  die." 

The  black  woman  lifted  the  boy  and  handed  him  to  the 
father. 

"  Don't  drop  him,"  said  Lillie.  "  Are  you  sure  you  can 
hold  him  ?     I  wouldn't  dare  to  take  him." 

As  if  she  could  have  taken  him  !  In  her  eagerness  she 
forgot  that  she  was  sick,  and  talked  as  if  she  were  in  her 
full  strength.  Her  eyes  followed  the  infant  so  uneasily 
about  the  room  that  Elderkin  motioned  Carter  to  replace 
him  on  the  bed. 

"  Xow  he  won't  fall,"  she  said,  cheerfully. — "  It  was  only 
a  sneeze,"  she  added  presently,  with  a  little  laugh  which  was 
like  a  gurgle,  a  purr  of  hapjmiess.  "  I  thought  something 
was  the  matter  with  him." — Shortly  afterward  she  asked, 
"  How  soon  will  he  talk  ?" 

"  I  am  afraid  not  for  two  or  three  weeks,  unless  the 
weather  is  favorable,"  replied  Elderkin,  with  a  chuckle 
which  under  the  circumstances  was  almost  blasphemous. 

"  How  strange  that  he  can't  talk  !"  she  replied,  without 
noticing  the  old  gentleman's  joke.  "  He  looks  so  intelli- 
gent!" 

"  She  wouldn't  be  a  bit  surprised  to  hear  him  sing  an 
Italian  opera,"  said  Ravenel.  "  She  has  seen  a  miracle  to- 
day.    Nothing  could  astonish  her." 

Lillie  did  not  laugh  nor  answer  ;  nothing  interested  her 


Fko:m     Secession    to     Loyalty.       405 

wliich  did  not  say,  Baby !  Baby  was  for  the  time  the 
whole  thought,  the  whole  life,  of  this  girl,  who  a  little  pre- 
vious existed  through  her  husband,  and  before  that  through 
her  father.  Each  passion  had  been  stronger  than  its  pre- 
decessor ;  but  now  she  had  reached  the  culminating  point 
of  her  womanhood  :  higher  than  Baby  it  was  impossible 
for  her  to  go.  Even  her  father  distressed  and  alarmed  her 
a  little  by  an  affection  for  the  newly-arrived  divinity  which 
lacked  what  she  felt  to  be  the  proper  reverence.  ISTot  con- 
tent Avith  worshiping  afar  off,  he  picked  up  the  tiny  god 
and  carried  him  to  the  partial  day  of  a  curtained  wmdow, 
desu'ing,  as  he  said,  the  honor  of  being  the  first  to  give  him 
an  idea. 

"  The  first  to  give  him  an  idea  !"  laughed  the  father. 
"  Why,  he  looks  as  if  he  had  been  thinkmg  for  centuries. 
He  looks  five  thousand  years  old." 

Seeing  that  Lillie  began  to  weary,  the  old  Doctor  re- 
placed the  deity  on  the  pillow  which  served  him  for  an 
altar,  and  turned  the  male  worshipers  out  of  the  room. 

"  How  delighted  they  are  with  him  !"  she  said  when  the 
door  had  closed  behmd  them.  "  Doctor,  isn't  he  an  un- 
commonly handsome  child  ?"  she  added  with  the  adorable 
simplicity  of  perfect  love.  "  I  thought  babies  were  not 
pretty  at  first." 

The  room  was  now  kept  still.  The  mother  and  child 
lay  side  by  side,  reposing  from  their  night-long  struggle 
for  life.  The  mother  looked  steadily  at  the  infant ;  the  in- 
fant looked  with  equal  fixity  at  the  window  :  each  gazed 
and  wondered  at  an  unaccustomed  glory.  In  a  few  min- 
utes both  dropped  to  sleep,  overcome  by  fatigue,  and  by 
novel  emotions,  or  sensations.  For  three  days  a  succes- 
sion of  long  slumbers,  and  of  waking  intervals  similar  to 
tranquilly  delightful  dreams,  composed  their  existence. 
When  they  were  thus  reposed  they  tasted  life  vn.ih  a  more 
complete  and  delicious  zest.  Lillie  entertauied  her  hus- 
band and  father  for  hours  at  a  time  with  discoursing  on 
the   attributes   of  the   baby,   pomting   out    the    difl'erent 


406  Miss     Ravenel's     Con  version 

elements  of  his  glory,  and  showing  how  he  grew  in  graces. 
She  was  quite  indifferent  to  their  affectionate  raillery ; 
nothing  could  shake  her  faith  in  the  illimital)ility  of  the 
new  deity.  They  two,  dear  as  they  were,  were  neverthe- 
less human,  and  were  not  so  necessary  as  they  had  been 
to  her  faith  in  goodness,  and  her  happiness  in  loving.  So 
long  as  she  had  the  baby  to  look  at,  she  could  pass  the 
whole  day  without  them,  hardly  wondering  at  their 
absence. 

"  We  are  dethroned,"  said  the  Doctor  to  the  Colonel. 
"  We  are  a  couple  of  Sat  urns  who  have  made  way  for  the 
new-born  Jupiter." 

"  Xonsense  !"  smiled  Lillie.  "  You  think  that  you  are 
going  to  sj^end  all  your  time  with  your  minerals  now. 
You  are  perfectly  happy  in  the  idea.     I  shaVt  allow  it." 

"  Xo.  We  must  remain  and  be  converts  to  the  new 
revelation.  Well,  I  suppose  we  sha'n't  resist.  We  are 
ready  to  make  our  profession  of  faith  at  all  times  and  in 
all  places." 

"  This  is  the  place,"  said  Lillie.     "  Isn't  he  sweet  ?" 

The  grandfather  knew  a  great  deal  better  than  either 
the  father  or  mother  how  to  handle  the  diminutive  Jupiter. 
He  took  him  from  the  pillow,  carried  him  to  the  window, 
drew  the  curtain  slowly,  and  laughed  to  see  the  solemn 
little  eyes,  after  winkmg  slowly,  turn  upward  and  fix 
themselves  steadily  on  the  broad,  mild  effulgence  of  the 
sky. 

"  He  looks  for  the  light,  as  plants  and  trees  lean  to- 
wards it,"  said  he.  "  He  is  trying  to  see  the  heavenly 
mansions  which  he  may  some  day  inhabit.  Xobody  knows 
how  soon.  They  get  up  their  chariots  very  suddenly 
sometimes,  these  little  Elijahs." 

"  Oh,  don't  talk  so,"  imi^lored  Lillie.     "  He  sha'n't  die." 

The  Doctor  was  thinking  of  his  own  only  boy,  who  had 
flown  from  the  cradle  to  Heaven  more  than  twenty  years 
ago. 

Aside  from  tenderness  for  his  wife,  Carter's  principal 


From  Secession    to    Loyalty.  407 

emotion  all  this  while  was  that  of  astonishment  at  his  posi- 
tion. It  cost  him  considerable  mental  effort,  and  stretch 
of  imagination,  to  conceive  himself  a  relative  of  the  new- 
comer. He  did  not,  like  Lillie,  love  the  child  by  passionate 
instinct ;  and  he  had  not  yet  learned  to  love  him  as  he  had 
learned  to  love  her.  He  was  tender  of  the  infant,  as  a 
creature  whose  weakness  pleaded  for  his  protection ;  but 
when  it  came  to  the  question  of  affection,  he  had  to  con- 
fess that  he  loved  him  chiefly  through  his  mother.  He 
was  a  poor  hand  at  fondling  the  boy,  being  always  afraid 
of  doing  him  some  harm.  He  was  better  pleased  to  see 
him  in  Lillie's  arms  than  to  feel  him  in  his  own  ;  the  little 
burden  was  curiously  warm  and  soft,  but  so  evidently  sus- 
ce23tible  to  injury  as  to  be  a  terror. 

"  I  would  rather  lead  a  storming  party,"  he  said.  "  I 
have  been  beaten  in  that  sort  of  thmg,  and  lived  through 
it.     But  if  I  should  drop  this  fellow — " 

And  here  the  warrior  absolutely  flinched  at  the  thought 
of  how  he  would  feel  in  such  a  horrible  case. 

Now  commenced  a  beautiful  reciprocal  education  of 
mother  and  child.  Each  discovered  every  day  new  mys- 
teries, new  causes  of  admiration  and  love,  in  the  other. 
Long  before  a  childless  man  or  even  woman  would  have 
imagined  signs  of  intelligence  in  the  infant,  the  mother  had 
not  merely  imagined  but  had  actually  discovered  them. 
You  would  have  been  wrong  if  you  had  laughed  incredu- 
lously when  she  said,  "He  begins  to  take  notice."  Of 
course  her  fondness  led  her  into  errors  :  she  mistook  symp- 
toms of  mere  sensation  for  utterances  of  ideas ;  she  per- 
ceived prophetically  rather  than  by  actual  observation : 
but  some  things,  some  opening  buds  of  intellect,  she  saw 
truly.  She  deceived  herself  when  she  thought  that  at  the 
age  of  three  weeks  he  knew  his  father ;  but  at  the  same 
time  she  was  quite  correct  in  believing  that  he  recognized 
and  cried  for  his  mother.  This  delighted  her ;  she  would 
let  him  cry  for  a  moment,  merely  for  the  pleasure  of  being 
so  desired  ;  then  she  would  fold  him  to  her  breast  and  be 


408        Miss    Ravexel's    Conversion 

his  comforter,  his  life.  They  were  teachers,  consolers, 
deities,  the  one  to  the  other. 

Her  love  gave  a  fresh  inspiration  to  her  religious  feeling. 
Here  was  a  new  object  of  thanksgiving  and  prayer :  an 
object  so  nearly  divme  that  only  Heaven  could  have  sent 
it :  an  object  so  delicate  that  only  Heaven  could  preserve 
it.  For  her  baby  she  prayed  with  an  intelligence,  a  feel- 
^mg,  a  faith,  such  as  she  had  never  known  before,  not  even 
when  praying  for  her  husband  during  his  times  of  battle. 
It  seemed  certain  to  her  that  the  merciful  All-Father  and 
the  Son  who  gave  himself  for  the  world  would  sympathize 
compassionately  with  the  innocence,  and  helplessness  of 
her  little  child.  These  sentiments  were  not  violent :  she 
would  have  withered  under  the  breath  of  any  passionate 
emotion :  they  were  as  gentle  and  comforting  as  summer 
breezes  from  orange  groves.  Once  only,  during  a  slight 
accession  of  fever,  there  came  something  like  a  physical 
revelation ;  a  room  full  of  mysterious,  dazzling  light ;  a 
communication  of  some  surprising,  unutterable  joy ;  an  im- 
pression as  of  a  elivine  voice,  saymg,  "  Thy  sins  are  for- 
given thee." 

Forgiven  of  God,  she  wished  also  to  be  forgiven  of  man. 
The  next  morning,  moved  by  the  remembrance  of  the  vis- 
ion, although  its  exaltation  had  nearly  vanished  with  the 
fall  of  the  fever,  she  beckoned  her  husband  to  her,  and 
T\T.th  tears  begged  his  pardon  for  some  long  since  forgotten 
petulance.  This  was  the  hardest  trial  that  Carter  had  yet 
undergone.  To  have  her  plead  for  his  forgiveness  was  a 
reproach  that  he  could  hardly  bear  with  self-possession. 
He  must  not  confess — no  such  relief  was  there  for  his  bur- 
dened spirit — but  he  sank  on  his  knees  in  miserable  pen- 
itence. 

"  Oh  !  forgive  me,"  he  said.  "  I  am  not  half  good  enough 
for  you.  I  am  not  worthy  of  your  love.  You  must  pray 
for  me,  my  darlmg." 

For  the  time  she  was  his  religion  :  his  loving,  chastening, 


From     Secession    to     Loyalty.  409 

though  not  all-seing  deity  :   uj^liftmg   and  piirifyuag  him, 
even  as  she  was  exalted  and  sanctified  by  her  child. 

Her  sick-bed  happiness  was  checkered  by  some  troubles. 
It  was  hard  not  to  stir ;  not  to  be  able  to  help  herself;  not 
to  tend  the  baby.  When  her  face  was  washed  for  her  by 
the  nurse,  there  would  be  places  where  it  was  not  thor- 
oughly dried,  and  which  she  sought  to  wipe  by  rubbino- 
agamst  the  pillow.  After-  a  few  trials  of  this  sort  she  for- 
bade the  nurse  to  touch  her,  and  in  si  ailed  her  husband  in 
the  duty.  It  w^as  actually  a  comfort  to  him  to  seek  to 
humiliate  himself  by  these  dressmg-maid  services  ;  and  it 
seemed  to  him  that  he  was  thereby  earning  forgiveness  for 
the  crime  which  he  dared  not  confess.  He  washed  her 
face,  took  her  meals  m,  and  put  them  out,  fed  her  with  his 
own  hands,  fanned  her  by  the  hour,  and  all,  she  thought, 
as  no  one  else  could. 

"  How  gentle  you  are  !"  she  said,  her  eyes  suddenly 
moistening  with  gratitude.  "  How  nicely  you  wait  on  me  ! 
And  to  think  that  you  have  led  a  storming  party  !  And  I 
have  seen  men  afraid  of  you !  My  dear,  what  did  you 
ever  mean  by  saying  that  you  are  not  good  enough  for 
me  ?     You  are  a  hundred  times  better  than  I  deserve." 

Carter  laid  his  forehead  in  her  gently  clasping  hands 
without  speaking. 

"  What  are  you  going  to  call  him  ?"  he  asked  presently. 

"Why,  Ravenel; — didn't  you  know?"  she  answered 
'W'ith  a  smile. 

She  had  been  callmg  him  Ravenel  to  herself  for  several 
days,  without  telling  any  one  of  it.  It  was  a  pleasure  to 
think  that  she  alone  knew  his  name ;  that  she  had  so  much 
in  him  of  an  unshared,  secret  possession. 

"  Ravenel  Carter,"  she  repeated.  "  We  can  make  that 
into  Ravvie.     Don't  you  like  it  ?" 

"  I  do,"  he  answered.  "  It  is  the  best  name  possible. 
It  contains  the  name  of  at  least  one  good  man." 

"  Of  two  good  men,"  she  insisted.  "  A  good  husband 
and  a  good  father." 

S 


410  Miss    Rave  x  el's     Conversion 

Her  first  drive  in  the  pony  carriage  was  an  ecstacy.  By 
her  side  sat  the  nurse  holding  Ravvie,  and  opposite  sat 
her  husband  and  father.  Presently  she  made  the  Colonel 
and  the  nurse  change  places. 

"  I  want  my  child  where  I  can  see  him,  and  my  husband 
where  I  can  lean  against  him,"  she  said. 

"  I  don't  come  in,"  observed  the  Doctor.  "  I  am  Mon- 
sieur De  Trop — Mr.  No  Account." 

"  Xo  you  are  not.  I  want  you  to  look  at  Ravvie  and 
me." 

Soon  she  was  anxious  lest  the  child  should  catch  cold 
by  riding  backwards. 

"  No  more  danger  one  way  than  the  other,"  said  the 
Doctor.     "  The  back  of  his  head  goes  all  around." 

"  I  dare  say  his  hair  will  protect  him  ;  won't  it  ?"  she 
asked. 

"  His  hair  is  about  as  heavy  as  his  whiskers,"  laughed 
the  Doctor.     "  He  is  in  no  danger  of  Absalom'^  fate." 

The  nurse  having  pulled  up  a  shawl  in  rear  of  the  little 
bobbmg  head,  Lillie  was  satisfied,  and  could  turn  her  at- 
tention to  other  things.  She  laid  her  slender  hand  on  her 
husband's  knee,  nestled  against  his  strong  shoulder  and 
said,  "  Isn't  it  lovely — isn't  the  whole  world  beautiful !" 

They  had  taken  the  nearest  cut  out  of  the  city,  and  were 
passing  a  surburban  mansion,  the  front  yard  of  which  was 
full  of  orange  trees  and  flowers.  A  few  weeks  before  she 
would  have  wanted  to  steal  the  flowers ;  now  she  eagerly 
asked  her  husband  to  get  out  and  beg  for  some.  When 
he  returned  with  a  gorgeous  bouquet  she  was  full  of  grati- 
tude, exclaiming,  "  Oh,  how  lovely  !  Did  you  thank  the 
people  ?  I  am  so  obliged  to  them.  Did  they  see  the  child 
in  the  carriage  ?" 

"  Yes,"  said  the  Colonel,  smiling  with  pleasure  at  her 
naive  delight.  "  The  lady  saw  the  child,  and  said  this 
rose  was  for  him." 

Accordingly  the  rose,  carefully  stripped  of  all  thorns, 


\ 


From     Secessiox    to     Loyalty.  411 

was  put  iiito  the  dimpled  fist  of  Ravvie,  who  of  course  pro- 
ceeded to  suck  it. 

"  He  is  smelling  of  it,"  cried  Lillie,  ^dth  a  charming  faith 
in  the  little  god's  precocity. 

"  He  is  trying  it  by  his  universal  test — his  all-sufficient 
crucible,"  said  the  Doctor.  "  Everything  must  go  into 
that  mouth.  It  is  his  only  medium  for  acquiring  knowledge 
at  present.  If  it  was  large  enough  and  he  could  reach  far 
enough,  he  would  investigate  the  nature  of  the  solar  system 
by  means  of  it.  It  is  lucky  for  the  world  that  he  is  not 
sufficiently  big  to  put  the  sun  in  his  mouth.  We  should 
certainly  find  ourselves  in  darkness — not  to  mention  that 
he  might  burn  himself.  My  dear,  I  am  afraid  he  will 
swallow  some  of  the  leaves,"  he  added.  "We  must  inter- 
fere. This  is  one  of  the  emergencies  when  a  grandfather 
has  a  right  to  exercise  authority." 

The  rose  was  gently  detached  from  Ravvie's  fat  grasp, 
and  stuck  in  his  little  silk  bonnet,  his  eyes  following  it  till 
it  disappeared. 

"  You  see  he  is  an  eating  animal,"  contmued  the  Doctor. 
"  That  is  pretty  much  all  at  present,  and  that  is  enough. 
He  has  no  need  of  any  more  wisdom  than  what  will  enable 
him  to  demand  nourishment  and  dispose  of  it ;  and  God,  in 
his  great  kindness  towards  infants,  has  not  troubled  him 
Tvith  any  further  revelations  so  far.  God  has  provided  us 
to  do  all  the  necessary  thinking  in  his  case.  The  infant  is 
a  mere  swallower,  digestor,  and  assimilator.  He  knows 
how  to  convert  other  substances  into  himself.  He  does  it 
with  energy,  singleness  of  purpose,  perseverance,  and  won- 
derful success.  N'othing  more  is  requisite.  In  eating  he 
is  performing  the  whole  duty  of  man  at  his  age.  So  far  as 
he  goes  he  is  a  masterpiece." 

"  But  you  are  making  a  machine  of  him — an  oyster," 
protested  Lillie. 

"  Very  like,"  said  the  Doctor,  "  Very  like  an  oyster. 
His  existence  has  a  simplicity  and  unity  very  similar  to 
that  of  the  lower  orders  of  creation.     Of  course  I  am  not 


412         Miss 

speaking  of  his  possibilities.  They  are  spiritual,  grand, 
perhaj^s  gigantic.  If  j'oii  could  see  the  inferior  face  of  liis 
brain,  you  would  be  able  to  perceive  even  now  the  magnifi- 
cent capacities  of  the  as  yet  untuned  instrument." 

"  Oh  don't,  papa  !*'  implored  Lillie.  "  You  trouble  me. 
Do  they  ever  dissect  babies  ?" 

"  Not  such  lively  ones  as  this,"  said  the  Doctor,  and  pro- 
ceeded to  change  the  subject.  "  I  never  saw  a  healthier 
creature.  I  shouldn't  wonder  if  he  survived  this  war, 
which  you  used  to  say  would  last  forty  years.  Perhaps 
he  will  be  the  man  to  finish  it." 

"  I  don't  say  so  now.  I  didn't  think  my  husband  would 
be  on  the  Union  side  when  I  said  that.  I  think  we  shall 
beat  them  now." 

"  Since  the  miracle  all  other  things  seem  possible," 
philosophised  the  Doctor. 

I  do  not  repeat  the  Colonel's  talk.  It  was  not  so  ap- 
propriate as  that  of  the  others  to  the  occasion  ;  for  he  knew 
little  as  yet  of  the  profounder  depths  of  womanly  and  in- 
fantile nature  ;  his  first  marriage  had  been  brief  and  child- 
less. In  fact.  Carter  was  rather  a  silent  man  in  family 
conclaves,  unless  the  conversation  turned  on  some  branch 
of  his  profession,  or  the  matters  of  ordinary  existence.  He 
occupied  himself  with  watchmg  alternately  his  wife  and 
child ;  with  wrapping  \\])  the  former,  and  occasionally 
fondlmg  the  latter. 

"  How  very  warm  he  feels  ! — how  amazingly  he  pulls 
hair! — I  believe  he  wants  to  get  my  head  in  his  mouth," 
are  samples  of  his  observations  on  the  infant  wonder.  He 
felt  that  the  baby  was  either  below  him  or  above  him,  he 
really  could  not  tell  which.  Of  his  wife's  position  he  was 
certain :  she  was  far  higher  than  his  plane  of  existence : 
when  she  took  his  hand  it  was  from  the  heavens. 

From  Mrs.  Larue  he  was  thoroughly  detached,  and  with 
a  joyful  sense  of  relief,  freedom,  betterment.  They  talked 
very  little  Avith  each  other,  and  only  on  indifierent  subjects 
and  in  the  presence  of  others.     It  is  possible  that  this  sep- 


From    Secession    to    Loyalty.         413 

« 
aration  would  not  have  lasted  if  they  had  been  thrown 
together  nnguarded,  as  had  been  the  case  on  board  the 
Creole;  but  here,  caring  for  his  infimt  and  for  the  wife 
who  had  suffered  so  much  and  so  sweetly  for  his  sake,  the 
Colonel  felt  no  puissance  of  passionate  temptation. 

Mrs.  Larue  had  no  conscience,  no  sense  of  honor ;  but 
like  many  cold  blooded  ^^eople,  she  valued  herself  on  her 
»  firmness.  In  an  unwonted  burst  of  enthusiasm  she  had 
told  him  that  all  must  be  over  between  them,  and  she 
meant  to  make  her  words  good,  no  matter  Avhat  he  might 
desire.  She  was  a  little  mortified  to  see  how  easily  he  had 
cut  loose  from  her  ;  but  she  knew  how  to  explain  it  so  as 
not  to  wound  her  vanity,  nor  tempt  her  to  break  her  reso- 
lution. 

"  If  he  did  not  love  his  wife  now,  he  would  be  a  brute," 
she  reflected.  "  And  if  he  had  had  the  possibilities  of  a 
brute  in  him,  I  never  should  have  had  a  caprice  for  him. 
After  all,  I  do  not  care  much  for  the  merely  physical  hu- 
man being.  C^est  par  le  cote  morale  qu  ''on  s'empare  de 
moi.  Ai^res  tout  je  suis  presque  aicssi  pure  dans  les  senti- 
ments que  ma  petite  coiisine.'''' 

Meanwhile  her  self-restramt  was  something  of  a  trial  to 
her.  At  times  she  thought  seriously  of  marrying  again, 
A\ith  the  idea  of  puttmg  an  end  to  these  risky  intrigues  and 
harassing  struggles.  Perhaps  it  was  under  this  impress- 
ion that  she  wrote  a  letter  to  Colburne,  informing  him  of 
the  birth  of  Ravvie,  and  sketchmg  some  few  items  of  the 
scene  with  a  picturesqueness  and  sympathy  that  quite 
touched  the  young  gentleman,  astonished  as  he  was  at  the 
frankness  of  the  language. 

"  After  all,"  she  concluded,  "  married  life  has  exquisite 
pleasures,  as  well  as  terrific  possibilities  of  sorrow.  I  do 
not  really  know  whether  to  advise  a  young  man  like  you  to 
take  a  wife  or  not.  Whether  you  marry  or  remain  smgle 
you  will  be  sorry.  I  think  that  in  either  state  the  pains 
outweigh  the  pleasures.  It  follows  that  we  are  not  to  con- 
sider our   own  happiness,  but  to  do    what  we  think  is 


414        Miss    Ravexel'.  s     Conversion 

for  the  happiness  of  others.  Is  not  this  the  true  secret  of 
life  ?" 

"Is  it  possible  that  I  have  been  unjust?"  queried  Col- 
burne.  "  Those  are  not  the  teachings  of  a  corrupted  na- 
ture." 

He  did  not  know  and  could  not  have  conceived  the  un- 
natural conscience,  tlie  abnormal  ideas  of  purity  and  duty, 
which  this  woman  had  created  for  her  own  use  and  com- 
fort, out  of  elements  that  are  beyond  the  ken  of  most  Xew 
Englanders.  He  was  the  child  of  Puritanism,  and  she  of 
Balzac's  moral  philosophy. 


CHAPTER  XXX. 

COLONEL     CARTER     COMMITS     HIS    FIRST    UNGENTLEMANLY 
'  ACTION. 

We  come  now  to  the  times  of  the  famous  and  unfortu- 
nate Red  River  expedition.  Durmg  the  winter  of  1863-4 
Xew  Orleans  society,  civil  as  well  as  military,  was  wild 
Avith  excitement  over  the  great  enterprise  which  was  not 
only  to  crush  the  rebel  power  m  the  southwest,  but  to 
open  to  commerce  the  immense  stores  of  cotton  belonging 
to  the  prhicely  planters  of  the  Red  River  bottoms.  Cotton 
was  gold,  foreign  exchange,  individual  wealth,  national 
solvency.  Thousands  of  men  went  half  mad  in  their  desire 
for  cotton.  Cotton  was  a  contagion,  an  influenza,  a  delirium. 

In  the  height  of  this  excitement  a  corpulent,  baldish, 
smiling  gentleman  of  fifty  was  closeted,  not  for  the  first 
time,  with  the  chief  quartermaster.  His  thick  feet  were 
planted  wide  apart,  his  chubby  hands  rested  on  his  chubby 
knees,  his  broad  base  completely  filled  the  large  office 
chair  in  which  he  sat,  his  paunchy  torso  and  fat  head  leaned 
forward  in  an  attitude  of  eagerness,  and  his  twinklmg  grey 
eyes,  encircled  by  yellowish  folds,  were  fixed  earnestly 
upon  the  face  of  Carter. 


Fro^    Secession     to    Loyalty.       415 

"  Colonel,  you  make  a  great  Biistake  m  letting  this 
chance  .lip  "  he  said,  and  then  paused  to  wheeze. 

The  Co  onel  said  nothing,  smoked  his  twenty  cent  Ha.- 

^''^^IrrfLStTsm-e  thing,"  continued  the  oleagi- 
nous i^onLge.  "Banks'  column  will  ^^-^^^^^^^Z 
»and  strono-.  Steele's  will  be  ten  thousand.  Theie  are 
£y  thousand,  without  counting  Porter's  flee^  The 
Confederates  can't  raise  twenty  thousand  to  cover  the  Red 
S:fc:lry,  if  they  go  to  hell.  Besides^  Aere  .  an  un 
derstandino-.  Tit  for  tat,  you  know.  Cotton  lor  casn. 
You  see  llamas  well  posted  on  the  matter  as  you  are, 

''"he  paused,  wheezed,  nodded,  smiled  and  bored  hi. 
cofkLrew  eyes  into  Carter.  The  latter  uttei-ed  not  a  wo.  d 
n,id  crave  no  sio-n  of  either  acqmescence  or  demal. 

"  You  see  th^  cotton  is  sure  to  come,"  contmued  the  stout 
man  Srawing  his  ocular  corkscrew  for  a  moment 
"n^w  whatlpro^ose  is,  that  you  put  in  the  cai^tal^^or  ^^^^ 
greater  part  of  it,  and  that  I  do  the  work  and  g^ve  jouthe 
fion's  shire  of  th^  profits.  I  can't  furmsh  tiie  c^p.  1  and 
vou  can  You  can't  do  the  work,  and  I  can.  Oi  suppose 
iZarantee  you  a  certain  sum  on  each  bale,  Colonel,  for 
aluXd  th'ousand  dollars,  I  promise  you  a  square  profit 

"^V^Ir'rlLViftistl  to  pay  so  well,  why  don't  you 
an  in  alone  ?"  asked  Carter. 

^  Mr  Walker  pointed  at  his  coarse  grey  trousers  and  then 
took  hold  of  the  frayed  edge  of  his  coarse  grey  coat. 

"See  here.  Colonel,"  said  he.  "The  man  who  wears 
this  cloth  hasn't  a  hundred  thousand  dollars  ^'^^J,  ,  ^'^^  i 
I  knew  you  in  old  times  I  used  to  go  ^"  ?^y  ^>-°^£°,*;„^^ 
hope  to  do  it  again-not  that  I  care  for  it.     Thats  one 


410         Miss     11  a  vex  el's     Conversion 

reason  I  don't  go  in  alone — a  short  "bank  balance.  Another 
is  that  I  haven't  the  influence  at  lieadquarters  that  you  have. 
I  need  your  name  as  well  as  your  money  to  put  the  busi- 
ness through  quick  and  sure.  That's  why  I  offer  you  four 
fifths  of  the  profits.  Colonel,  it's  a  certain  thing  and  a  good 
thmo-.  I  am  positively  astonished  at  finding  any  hesitation 
in  a  man  in  your  pecuniary  condition." 

"  What  do  you  know  about  my  condition  ?"  demanded 
Carter  imperiously. 

"  Well,  it's  my  interest  to  know,"  replied  Walker,  whose 
cunning  fat  smile  did  not  quail  before  the  Colonel's  leonine 
roar  and  toss  of  mane.  "  I  have  bought  up  a  lot  of  your 
debts  and  notes.  I  got  them  for  an  average  of  sixty,  Col- 
onel." 

"  You  paid  devilish  dear,  and  made  a  bad  investment," 
said  Carter,  "  I  wouldn't  have  given  thirty." 

A  bitter  smile  twisted  his  lips  as  he  thought  how  poor 
he  was,  how  bad  his  credit  was,  and  how  mean  it  was  to 
be  poor  and  discredited. 

"  Perhaps  I  have.  I  believe  I  have,  unless  you  go  into 
this  cotton.  I  bought  them  to  induce  you  to  go  into  it. 
I  thought  you  would  oblige  a  man  who  relieved  you  from 
forty  or  fifty  duns.  I  took  a  four  thousand  dollar  risk  on 
you.  Colonel." 

Carter  scowled  and  stopped  smoking.  He  did  not  know 
what  W^alker  could  do  with  him ;  he  did  not  much  be- 
lieve that  he  legally  could  do  anythmg  ;  his  creditors  never 
had  done  more  than  dun  him.  But  High  Authority  might 
perhaps  be  led  to  do  unpleasant  thmgs:  for  instance,  in  the 
way  of  relieving  him  from  his  position,  if  the  fact  should 
be  forced  upon  its  notice,  that  so  responsible  an  officer  as 
the  chief  quartermaster  of  the  Gulf  Department  was  bur- 
dened by  private  indebtedness.  At  all  events  it  was  un- 
pleasant to  have  a  grasping,  intriguing,  audacious  fellow 
like  Walker  for  a  creditor  to  so  large  an  amount.  It 
would  be  a  fine  thing  to  get  out  of  debt  once  for  all ;  to 
astonish  his  duns  (impertinent  fellows,  some  of  them)  by 


Fko:m     Secession    to     Loyalty.        417 

settling  eveiy  solitary  bill  mth  interest ;  to  be  rich  once 
for  all,  without  clanger  of  recnrrmg  poverty ;  to  be  rich 
enough  to  force  promotion.  Other  officials — quartermas- 
ters, paymasters,  etc. — Avere  going  in  for  cotton  on  the 
strength  of  Government  deposits.  The  influenza  had 
caught  the  Colonel ;  indeed  it  was  enough  to  corrupt  any 
man's  honesty  to  breathe  the  moral  atmosphere  of  'Nevf  Or- 
leans at  that  time ;  it  could  taint  the  honor  derived  from 
blue  ancestral  blood  and  West  Point  professional  pride. 

Carter  did  not,  however,  give  way  to  his  oily  Mephis- 
topheles  during  this  mterview.  Walker's  victory  was 
not  so  sudden  as  Mrs.  Larue's ;  his  temptation  was  not  so 
well  suited  as  hers  to  the  character  of  the  victim ;  the  love 
of  lucre  could  not  compare  as  a  force  with  /e  clivhi  se7ts  du 
genesiacjue.  It  was  not  until  Walker  had  boldly  threatened 
to  brmg  his  claims  before  the  General  Commanding,  not 
until  the  army  had  well  nigh  reached  the  Red  River,  not 
until  the  chance  of  investment  had  almost  passed,  that  the 
Colonel  became  a  speculator.  Once  resolved,  he  acted 
with  audacity,  according  to  his  temperament.  But  here, 
unfortunately  for  the  curious  reader,  we  enter  upon  cavern- 
ous darkness,  where  it  is  impossible  to  trace  out  a  story 
except  by  hazardous  inference,  our  only  guides  being  com- 
mon rumor,  a  fragment  of  a  letter,  a  conversation  half- 
overheard,  and  other  circumstances  of  a  like  unsatisfactory 
nature.  Before  giving  my  narrative  publicity  I  feel  bound 
to  state  that  the  entire  series  of  alleged  events  may  be  a 
fiction  of  the  excited  popular  imagination,  founded  on 
facts  which  might  be  explained  in  accordance  with  an  as- 
sumption of  Carter's  innocence,  and  official  honor. 

I  am  inclined  to  believe,  or  at  least  to  admit,  that  he 
drew  a  large  sum  (not  less  than  one  hundred  thousand 
dollars)  of  the  Government  money  in  his  charge,  and 
placed  it  in  the  hands  of  his  agent  for  the  purchase  of  cot- 
ton from  the  planters  of  the  Red  River.  It  is  probable 
that  Walker  expected  to  complete  the  transaction  withm 
a  month,  and  to  place  the  cotton,  or  the  proceeds  of  it,  in 


418         Miss    R  a  vex  el's     Conversion 

the  hands  of  his  principal  early  enough  to  enable  the  latter 
to  show  a  square  balance  on  his  official  return  at  the  close 
of  the  current  quarter.  Such  claims  as  might  come  in 
during  this  period  could  be  put  off  by  the  plea  of  "  no 
funds,"  or  the  safer  devices  of,  "  disallowed," — "  papers 
returned  for  correction,"  etc.,  etc.  That  the  cotton  could 
be  sold  at  a  monstrous  profit  was  unquestionable.  At 
New  Orleans  there  were  greedy  capitalists,  who  had  not 
been  lucky  enough  to  get  into  the  Ring,  and  so  accompany 
the  expedition,  who  were  anxious  to  pay  cash  down  for 
the  precious  commodity  immediately  on  its  arrival  at  the 
levee,  or  even  before  it  quitted  the  Red  River.  Iso  body 
entertained  a  doubt  of  the  military  and  commercial  suc- 
cess of  the  great  expedition,  with  its  fleet,  its  veteran  in- 
fantry, its  abundant  cavalry,  all  splendidly  equipped,  and 
its  strategic  combination  of  concentric  columns.  Even 
rabid  secessionists  were  infected  by  the  mania,  and  sought 
to  invest  their  gold  in  cotton.  It  is  probable  that  Carter's 
hopes  at  this  time  were  far  higher  than  his  fears,  and  that 
he  pretty  confidently  expected  to  see  himself  a  rich  man 
inside  of  sixty  days.  I  am  telling  my  story,  the  reader 
perceives,  on  the  presumption  that  rumor  has  correctly 
stated  these  mysterious  events. 

If  the  materials  for  the  tale  were  only  attainable  it  would 
be  a  delightful  thmg  to  follow  the  coipulent  Walker 
through  the  peaceful  advance  and  sangumary  retreat  of 
the  great  expedition.  It  is  certain  that  from  some  quarter 
he  obtained  command  of  a  vast  capital,  and  that,  in  spite 
of  liis  avoirdupois,  he  was  alert  and  indefatigable  in  seek- 
ing opportunities  for  investment.  Had  Mars  been  half  as 
adroit  and  watchful  in  liis  strategy  as  this  fiit  old  Mercury 
was  m  his  speculations,  Shreveport  would  have  been  taken, 
and  Carter  would  have  made  a  quarter  of  a  million.  But 
the  God  of  Lucre  had  great  reason  to  grumble  at  the  God 
of  War.  It  was  in  vain  that  Mercury  lost  fifty  pounds  of 
flesh  in  sleepless  lookout  for  chances,  in  audacious  rides  to 
plantations  haunted  by  guerrillas,  shot  at  from  swamps, 


Fiio:m     Secession     to     Loyalty.         419 

and  thickets,  half  starved  or  living  on  raw  pork  and  hard- 
tack, bargaining  nearly  all  night  after  riding  all  day,  un- 
tirino-  as  a  savage,  zealous  as  an  abolitionist,  sublime  in  his 
passion  for  gain.  Mars  incautiously  stretched  his  splendid 
army  over  thirty  miles  of  road,  and  saw  it  beaten  in  de- 
tachments by  a  force  one  quarter  smaller,  and  vastly  in- 
ferior in  discipline  and  equipment.  There  was  such  a 
panic  at  Sabme  Cross  Roads  as  had  not  been  seen  since 
Bull  Run.  Cavalry,  artillery,  and  infantry,  mingled  to- 
gether m  hopeless  confusion,  rushed  in  wild  flight  across 
the  open  fields,  or  forced  their  way  down  a  narrow  ro'ad 
encumbered  with  miles  of  abandoned  baggage  wagons. 
Through  this  chaos  of  terror  advanced  the  saviours  of  the 
dav,  the  heroic  First  Division  of  the  Xineteenth  Corps, 
marching  calmly  by  the  flank,  hooting  and  jeering  the 
runaways,  filing  into  line  within  grape  range  of  the  enemy, 
and  opening  a  withering  fire  of  musketry  which  checked 
until  nightfall  the  victorious,  elated,  impetuous  Rebel 
masses.  Then  came  an  extraordinary  midnight  retreat  of 
twenty  miles,  and  in  the  afternoon  of  the  next  day  a  hardly- 
won,  unimproved  victory.  The  first  division  of  the  Xine- 
teenth Corps,  and  seven  thousand  men  of  the  Sixteenth 
Corps,  the  one  forming  the  right  and  the  other  the  left, 
resisted  for  hours  the  violent  charges  of  the  rebels,  and 
then  advanced  two  miles,  occupying  the  field  of  battle. 
The  soldiers  were  victorious,  but  the  General  was  beaten. 
A  new  retreat  was  ordered,  and  Mercury  went  totally  to 
grief 

The  obese  Walker  was  last  seen  by  loyal  eyes  on  the 
night  which  followed  the  barren  triumph  of  Pleasant  Hill. 
He  had  had  his  horse  shot  under  him  in  the  begmning  of 
the  fightmg  at  Sabine  Cross  Roads,  while  in  advance  of  the 
column ;  had  efiected  a  masterly  retreat,  partly  on  foot 
and  partly  on  a  Government  mule  which  he  took  from  a 
negro  driver,  who  had  cut  it  loose  from  an  entangled 
waggon ;  had  fed  himself  abundantly  from  the  havresacks 
of  defunct  rebels  on  the  field  of  victory ;  and  then  had  he- 


420  Miss     Ravenel's     Conversion 

roically  set  to  work  to  make  the  best  of  circumstances. 
Believing  with  the  confidence  of  his  sanguine  nature  that 
the  army  would  advance  in  the  mornmg,  he  started  on  his 
mule,  accompanied  by  two  comrades  of  the  Ring,  for  the 
house  of  a  neighboring  planter,  to  whom  it  is  supposed 
that  he  had  advanced  cash  for  cotton.  Xo  one  knows  to 
this  day  what  became  of  him,  or  of  his  funds,  or  invest- 
ments, or  fellow  adventurers.  All  alike  disappeared  utterly 
and  forever  from  the  knowledge  of  the  Union  army  when 
the  three  rode  into  that  night  of  blood  and  groans  beyond 
the!  flickermg  circle  of  light,  thrown  out  by  the  camp  fires. 

The  news  of  the  calamity,  we  may  suj^pose,  nearly  par- 
alyzed Carter.  Defalcation,  trial  by  court-martial,  dis- 
graceful dismissal  from  the  service,  hard  labor  at  Tortugas, 
ball  and  chain,  a  beggared  family,  a  crazed  wife,  must 
have  made  up  a  terrific  spectre,  advancing,  close  at  hand, 
unavoidable,  pitiless.  It  Avould  be  a  laborious  task  to  an- 
alyze and  fully  conceive  the  feelmgs  of  such  a  man  in  such 
a  position.  Xaturally  and  with  inexorable  logic  followed 
the  second  act  of  the  moral  tragedy.  A  deed  which  some 
men  would  call  merely  a  blunder  led  straight  to  another 
deed  which  all  men  would  call  a  crime.  He  could  not, 
as  men  have  sometimes  done,  hope  to  annul  his  indebtedness 
by  the  simple  commission  of  murder.  Irresistible  necessity 
drove  him  (if  our  hypothetical  tale  is  correct)  into  a  species 
of  Avickedness  which  was  probably  more  repugnant  to  his 
peculiarly  educated  conscience  than  the  taking  of  human 
life. 

Carter  wanted,  we  will  say,  one  hundred  and  ten  thou- 
sand dollars  to  make  himself  square  with  the  United  States 
and  his  private  creditors.  Looking  over  the  Government 
property  for  wliich  he  had  receipted  and  was  responsible, 
he  found  fifteen  steamboats,  formerly  freight  or  passenger 
boats  on  the  Mississij^pi  and  its  branches,  but  now  regular 
transports,  part  of  them  lying  idly  at  the  levee,  the  others 
engaged  in  carrying  reinforcements  to  the  army  at  Grande 
Ecore  or  in  bringing  back  the  sick  and  wounded.     If  ten 


Fkom     Secession    to     Loyalty.       421 

of  these  boats  were  sold  at  an  average  of  ten  thousand 
dollars  apiece  and  re-bought  at  an  average  of  twenty-five 
thousand  dollars  apiece,  the  transaction  would  furnish  a 
profit  of  "one  hundred  and  fifty  thousand  dollars,  which 
would  settle  all  his  debts,  besides  furnishing  collusion- 
money.  Fu'st,  he  wanted  a  nominal  purchaser,  who 
had  that  sort  of  honor  which  is  necessary  among  thieves, 
fortune  enough  to  render  the  story  of  the  purchase  plausi- 
ble, and  character  enough  to  impose  on  the  public.  Carter 
went  straight  to  a  man  of  known  fortune,  born  in  Xew 
Orleans,  high  in  social  position,  a  secessionist  who  had 
taken  the  oath  of  allegiance.  Mr.  Hollister  was  a  small 
and  thin  gentleman,  with  sallow  and  hollow  cheeks,  black 
eyes,  ii'on  gray  hair,  mellow  voice,  composed  and  elegant 
manners.  His  air,  notwithstanding  his  small  size,  was 
remarkably  dignified,  and  his  expression  was  so  calm  that 
it  would  have  seemed  benignant  but  for  a  most  nnhappy 
eye.  It  was  startlingly  black,  with  an  agitated  flicker  in 
it,  like  the  flame  of  a  candle  blowing  in  the  wind ;  it  did 
not  seem  to  be  pursuing  any  object  without,  but  rather 
flying  from  some  horrible  thought  within.  What  intrigue 
or  crime  or  suflering  it  was  the  record  of  it  is  not  worth 
while  to  inquire.  There  had  been  many  dark  things  done 
or  planned  in  Louisiana  during  the  lifetime  of  Mr.  Hollis- 
ter. His  age  must  have  been  sixty-five,  although  the  fresh- 
ness of  his  brown  morning  suit,  the  fineness  and  fit  of  his 
linen,  the  neat  brush  to  his  hair,  the  clean  shave  on  his  face, 
took  ten  years  off"  his  shoulders.  As  he  dabbled  in  stocks 
and  speculations,  he  had  his  office.  He  advanced  to  meet 
the  chief  quartermaster,  shook  hands  with  respectful  cor- 
diality, and  conducted  him  to  a  chair  with  as  much  polite- 
ness as  if  he  were  a  lady. 

"  You  look  pale.  Colonel,"  he  said.  "  Allow  me  to  offer 
you  a  glass  of  brandy.  Trying  season,  this  last  summer. 
There  was  a  time  when  I  never  thought  of  facing  our  cli- 
mate all  the  year  round." 

Taking  out  of  a  cupboard  one  of  the  many  bottles  of 


422  Miss    Ra vex  el's    Conversion 

choice  old  cognac  with  which  he  had  enriched  his  wine- 
cellar,  before  the  million  of  former  days  had  dwindled  to 
the  hundred  thousand  of  to-day,  he  set  it  beside  a  pitcher 
of  ice-water  and  some  glasses  which  stood  on  a  table.  The 
Colonel  swallowed  half  a  tumbler  of  pure  brandy,  and 
dashed  some  water  after  it.  The  broker  mixed  a  weak 
slino;,  and  sipped  it  to  keep  his  visitor  in  countenance. 

"  Mr.  Hollister,"  said  Carter,  "  I  hope  I  shall  not  offend 
you  if  I  say  that  I  know  you  have  suffered  heavily  by 
the  war." 

"  I  shall  certainly  not  be  offended.  I  am  obliged  to  you 
for  showing  the  slightest  interest  in  my  affairs." 

"  You  have  taken  the  oath  of  allegiance — haven't  you  ?" 

Mr.  Hollister  said  "  Yes,"  and  bowed  respectfully,  as  if 
saluting  the  United  States  Government. 

"  It  is  only  fair  that  you  should  obtain  remuneration  for 
your  losses." 

The  black  eyes  flashed  a  little  under  the  iron-gray,  bushy 
eyebrows,  but  the  sallow  face  shoAved  no  other  sign  of 
interest  and  none  of  impatience. 

"  I  know  of  a  transaction — an  investment — "  pursued 
Carter,  "  which  will  probably  enable  you  to  pocket — to  re- 
alize— perhaps  twenty  thousand  dollars." 

"  I  should  be  indebted  to  you  for  life.  Whatever  ser- 
vice I  can  render  in  return  will  be  given  with  all  my 
heart." 

"  It  requires  secrecy.  May  I  ask  you  to  pledge  your 
word  ?" 

"  I  pledge  it.  Colonel — my  word  of  honor — as  a  Louisi- 
ana gentleman." 

Carter  drew  a  long  breath,  poured  out  another  dose  of 
brandy,  partially  raised  it  and  then  set  it,  down  without 
drmking. 

"  There  are  ten  river  steamboats  here,"  he  went  on — 
"  ten  transports  which  are  not  wanted.  I  have  received  a 
message  from  headquarters  to  the  effect  that  we  no  longer 
need  our  present  large  force  of  transports.     The  ai-my  will 


Fro:m:    Secessiox    to     Loyalty.         423 

not  retreat  from  Grande  Ecore.  It  is  sufficiently  reinforced 
to  go  to  Bhrereport.  I  am  empowered  to  select  eight  of 
these  transports  for  sale — you  understand." 

"  Precisely,"  bowed  Hollister.  "  If  the  army  advances, 
of  course  it  does  not  need  transports." 

As  to  the  military  information  he  neither  believed  nor 
disbelieved,  knowing  well  that  the  Colonel  would  not 
honestly  tell  him  anything  of  consequence  on  that  score. 

"  Well,  they  will  be  sold,"  added  Carter,  after  a  pause, 
during  which  he  vainly  tried  to  imagine  some  other  method 
of  covering  his  enormous  defalcation.  "  They  will  be  sold 
at  auction.  They  will  probably  bring  next  to  nothing.  I 
propose  that  you  be  present  to  buy  them." 

The  broker  closed  his  eyes  for  a  moment  or  two,  and 
when  he  had  opened  them  he  had  made  his  calculations. 
He  inferred  that  the  United  States  Government  was  not  to 
profit  much  by  the  transaction ;  that,  in  plain  words,  it 
was  to  be  cheated  out  of  an  amount  of  property  more  or 
less  considerable ;  and,  being  a  Confederate  at  heart,  he 
had  no  objection. 

"  Why  not  have  a  private  sale  ?"  he  asked. 

"  It  is  contrary  to  the  Regulations." 

"  Ah  !  Then  it  might  be  well  not  to  have  the  auction 
made  too  public." 

"  I  suppose  so.     Perhaps  that  can  be  arranged." 

"  I  can  arrange  it,  Colonel.  If  I  may  select  the  parties 
to  be  present,  men  of  straw,  you  understand — the  auction 
will  wear  a  sufficient  air  of  publicity,  and  will  yet  be  sub- 
stantially a  private  sale.  All  that  is  easily  enough  man- 
aged, provided  we  first  understand  each  other  thoroughly. 
Listen,  if  you  please.  The  ten  steamboats  are  worth,  we 
will  say,  an  average  of  twenty-five  thousand  dollars,  or 
two  hundred  and  fifty  thousand  for  the  lot.  If  I  buy  them 
for  an  average  of  ten  thousand,  which  is  respectable " 

Here  he  looked  gravely  at  Carter,  and,  seeing  assent  in 
his  eyes,  continued. 

"  If  I  buy  them  at  an  average  of  ten  thousand,  there 


424         Miss     Ravexel's     Coxveksiox 

will  remain  a  profit — in  case  of  sale — of  one  hundred  and 
fifty  thousand.  That  is  very  well — exceedingly  well.  Of 
course  I  should  only  demand  a  moderate  proportion  of  so 
large  a  sum.  But  there  are  several  other  things  to  be  con- 
sidered. If  I  am  to  pay  cash  down,  it  will  oblige  me  to 
borrow  immensely,  and  perhaps  to  realize  at  a  loss  by 
forcing  sales  of  my  stocks.  In  that  case  I  should  want — 
say  a  third — of  the  profit  in  order  to  cover  my  risk  and 
my  losses,  as  well  as  my  expenses  in  the  way  of — to  be 
plain — hush-money.  If  I  can  pay  by  giving  my  notes, 
and  moreover  can  be  made  sure  of  a  j^urchaser  before  the 
notes  mature,  I  can  afford  to  undertake  the  job  for  one 
sixth  of  the  profits,  which  I  estimate  to  be  twenty-five 
thousand  dollars." 

There  was  a  flash  of  pleasure  in  Carter's  eyes  at  discov- 
ering that  the  broker  was  so  moderate  m  his  expectations. 
There  was  a  similar  glitter  in  the  dark  orbs  of  Hollister  at 
seeing  that  the  Colonel  tacitly  accepted  his  ofl:er,  from 
which  he  would  have  been  willing  to  abate  a  few  thousands 
rather  than  lose  the  job. 

"  The  boats  will  have  to  go  before  an  Inspector  before 
they  can  be  sold,"  said  the  Colonel,  after  a  few  moments 
of  reverie,  duruig  which  he  drank  off  his  brandy. 

"  I  hope  he  will  be  amenable  to  reason,"  said  Hollister. 
"  Perhaps  he  will  need  a  couple  of  thousands  or  so  before 
he  will  be  able  to  discover  his  Ime  of  duty.  It  may  an- 
swer if  he  is  merely  ignorant  of  steamboats." 

"  Of  course  he  is.  What  can  an  army  officer  know  about 
steam  engmes  or  hulls  ?" 

"  I  will  see  that  he  is  posted.  I  will  see  thai  he  has  en- 
tirely satisfactory  evidence  concerning  the  worthless 
nature  of  the  jDroperty  from  the  captains,  and  engineers, 
and  carpenters.  That  will  require — say  three  thousand — 
possibly  twice  that.  I  will  advance  the  money  for  these 
incidental  expenses,  and  you  will  reimburse  me  one  half 
when  the  transaction  is  complete." 

The  Colonel  looked  up  uneasily,   and  made  no  reply. 


From     Secession    to     Loyalty.       425 

He  did  not  want  to  make  money  out  of  the  swindle  : 
curiously  enough  he  still  had  too  much  conscience,  too 
much  honor,  for  that ;  but  he  must  be  sure  of  enough  to 
clear  off  his  defalcation. 

"  Well,  we  will  see  about  that  afterward,"  comj^romised 
Hollister.  "  I  will  pay  these  expenses  and  leave  the  ques- 
tion of  reimbursement  to  you.  By  the  way,  what  are  the 
names  of  the  boats  ?     I  know  some  of  them." 

"  Queen  of  the  South,  Queen  of  the  West,  Pelican,  Cres- 
cent City,  Palmetto,  Union,  Father  of  Waters,  Red  River, 
Gulf  State,  and  Massachusetts,"  repeated  Carter,  ^dth  a 
pause  of  recollection  before  each  title. 

The  broker  laughed. 

"  I  used  to  own  three  of  them.  I  know  them  all,  except 
the  Massachusetts,  which  is  a  northern  boat.  All  in  run- 
ning order  ?" 

"Yes.     Dirty,  of  course." 

"  Very  well.  Now  jDcrmit  me  to  make  out  a  complete 
l^rogramme  of  the  transaction.  The  boats  are  recommended 
for  the  action  of  an  Inspector.  I  see  to  it  that  he  receives 
sufficient  evidence  to  prove  their  imserviceable  condition. 
It  is  ordered  that  they  be  sold  at  j^ublic  auction.  I  pro- 
vide the  persons  who  are  to  be  present  at  the  auction. 
These  men — my  agents — will  purchase  the  boats  at  a  net 
cost  of  one  hundred  thousand  dollars,  for  which  they  will 
give  my  notes  payable  a  month  from  date.  ^\"ithin  the 
month  I  am  supposed  to  refit  the  boats  and  make  them 
serviceable,  while  the  Government  is  certain  to  need  them 
back  again.  I  then  sell  them  to  you — the  purchasing 
agent  of  the  Government — for  a  net  sum  of  at  least  two 
hundred  and  fifty  thousand  dollars.  I  receive  my  notes 
back,  and  also  a  cash  balance  of  one  hundred  and  thirty 
thousand  dollars,  of  which  I  only  take  thirty  thousand, 
leaving  the  rest  in  your  hands  under  a  mutual  pledge  of 
confidence.  I  desire  to  make  one  final  suggestion,  which 
I  consider  of  great  importance.  It  would  be  well  if  the 
boats,  when  re-bought,  should  accidentally  take  fire  and 


426  Miss    Ravenel's     Conversion 

be  destroyed,  as  it  would  prevent  inspection  as  to  the 
amount  which  I  might  have  expended  in  repairs.  Colonel, 
is  that  perfectly  to  your  satisfaction  ?" 

The  unfortunate,  unhappy,  degraded  officer  and  gentle- 
man could  only  reply,  "  Yes." 

Such  is  the  sup^^osed  secret  history  of  this  scandalous 
stroke  of  business.  It  is  only  certain  that  the  boats  M^ere 
inspected  and  condemned;  that  at  an  auction,  attended  by 
a  limited  number  of  respectably  dressed  persons,  they 
were  sold  for  sums  varying  from  seven  to  fifteen  thousand 
dollars ;  that  the  amounts  were  all  paid  in  the  notes  of  L. 
M.  Hollister,  a  well-known  broker,  and  capitalist  of  sup- 
posed secession  proclivities  ;  that  within  a  month  the  trans- 
ports were  repurchased  by  the  Government  at  sums  vary- 
ing from  fifteen  to  thirty  thousand  dollars ;  that  thus  a  net 
profit  of  one  hundred  and  fifty  thousand  dollars  accrued  to 
the  said  Hollister ;  and  that  three  days  after  the  sale  the 
boats  cauo-ht  fire  and  burned  to  the  water's  eds^e.  Of 
course  there  was  talk,  perhaps  unjustifiable ;  suspicions, 
which  perhaps  had  no  foundation  in  fact.  But  there  was 
no  investigation,  possibly  no  serious  cause  for  it,  probably 
no  chance  for  it. 

Colonel  Carter  sent  a  square  balance-sheet  to  the  Quar- 
termaster's Department  at  Washmgton,  and  paid  all  his 
private  debts  in  'New  Orleans.  But  he  grew  thin,  looked 
anxious,  or  ostentatiously  gay,  and  resumed  to  some  ex- 
tent his  habits  of  drinking.  Once  he  terrified  his  wife  by 
remaining  out  all  night,  explaining  when  he  came  home  in 
the  morning  that  he  had  been  up  the  river  on  pressing 
business.  The  truth  is  that  the  Colonel  had  got  himself 
stone-blind  drunk,  and  had  slept  himself  sober  in  a  hotel. 


FROii     Secession    to     Loyalty.         427 


CHAPTER  XXXI. 

A  TORTURE    -V^'HICH   MIGHT   HAVE    BEEN    SPARED. 

A  WEEK  after  the  conflagration  Carter  received  his  com- 
mission as  Brigadier-General.  His  first  impression  was  one 
of  exultation :  his  enemies  and  his  adverse  fate  had  been 
beaten ;  he  was  on  the  road  to  distinction ;  he  could  wear 
the  silver  star.  Then  came  a  feeling  of  despondency  and 
fear,  while  he  remembered  the  crime  into  which  he  had 
been  driven,  as  he  thought  or  tried  to  think,  by  the  lack 
of  this  just  recognition  of  his  services.  Oh  the  bitterness 
of  good  fortune,  long  desired,  which  comes  too  late  ! 

"A  month  ago  this  might  have  saved  me,"  he  muttered, 
and  then  burst  into  curses  upon  his  political  opponents,  his 
creditors,  himself,  all  those  who  had  brought  about  his 
ruin. 

"  My  only  crime  !  The  only  ungentlemanly  act  of  my 
life  ]"  was  another  phrase  which  dropped  from  his  lips. 
Doubtless  he  thought  so:  many  people  of  high  social  posi- 
tion hold  a  similarly  mixed  moral  creed ;  they  allow  that 
a  gentleman  may  be  given  to  expensive  immoralities,  but 
not  to  money-getting  ones  ;  that  he  may  indulge  in  wine, 
women,  and  play,  but  not  m  swindlmg.  All  over  Europe 
this  curious  ethical  distinction  prevails,  and  very  naturally, 
for  it  springs  out  of  the  conditions  of  a  hereditary  aristo- 
tracy,  and  makes  allowance  for  the  vices  to  which  wealthy 
nobles  are  tempted,  but  not  for  vices  to  which  they  are 
not  tempted.  A  feeble  echo  of  it  has  traversed  the  ocean, 
and  influenced  some  characters  in  America  both  for  good 
and  for  evil. 

Carter  was  almost  astonished  at  the  child-like  joy,  so 
contradictory  to  his  own  angry  remorse,  with  which  Lillie 
received  the  news  of  his  promotion. 

"  Oh  ! — My  General !"  she  said,  colormg  to  her  forehead 


428         Miss     Ravexel's    Cox  tee  sign 

with  delight,  after  a  single  glance  at  the  commission  which 
he  dropped  into  her  lap.  She  rose  up  and  gave  him  a 
mock  military  salute  ;  then  sprang  at  him  and  covered  his 
bronzed  face  and  long  mustache  with  kisses. 

"  I  am  so  happy  !  They  have  done  you  justice  at  last — 
a  little  justice.  Oh,  I  am  so  glad  and  proud  !  I  am  going 
Avith  you  to  buy  the  star.     You  shall  let  me  choose  it." 

Then,  her  mind  taking  a  forward  leap  of  fifteen  years, 
she  added,  "  We  will  send  Rav^^e  to  West  Point,  and  he 
shall  be  a  general,  too,  He  isgomg  to  be  very  intelligent. 
And  brave,  also.     He  isn't  in  the  least  timid." 

Carter  laughed  for  the  first  time  smce  he  had  received 
the  commission. 

"  My  dear,"  said  he,  "  Ravvie  will  probably  become  a 
general  long  after  I  have  ceased  to  be  one.  I  am  a  volun- 
teer.    I  am  only  a  general  while  the  war  lasts." 

"  But  the  war  will  last  a  long  time,"  hopefully  replied 
the  monster  in  woman's  guise,  who  loved  her  husband  a 
hundred  times  as  much  as  she  did  her  country. 

"  There  is  one  unpleasant  result  of  this  promotion,"  ob- 
served Carter. 

"  What !  You  are  not  going  to  the  field  ?"  asked  Lil- 
lie,  clutching  him  by  the  sleeve.     "  Oh,  don't  do  that !" 

"  My  little  girl,  I  cannot  hold  my  present  jDosition.  A 
Brigadier-General  can't  remain  quartermaster,  not  even  of 
a  department.  I  must  resign  it  and  report  for  duty. 
Headquarters  may  order  me  to  the  field,  and  I  certainly 
ought  to  go." 

"  Oh  no  !  It  can't  be  necessary.  To  think  that  this 
should  come  just  when  we  were  so  happy.  I  wish  you 
hadn't  been  promoted." 

"My  darling,  you  want  to  make  a  woman  of  me,"  he 
said,  holding  her  close  to  his  side.  "  I  must  show  myself 
a  man,  now  that  my  manhood  has  been  recognized.  My 
honor  demands  it." 

He  talked  of  his  honor  from  long  habit ;  conscious,  how- 
ever, that  the  word  stung  him. 


Feom     Secession     to     Loyalty.         429 

"But  don't  ask  to  be  sent  to  the  field,"  pleaded  Lillie. 
"  Resign  your  place  and  report  for  duty,  if  you  must. 
But  please  don't  ask  to  be  sent  to  the  field.  Promise  me 
that  ;  won't  you  ?" 

Looking  into  his  wife's  tearful  eyes,  mth  his  strong  and 
plump  hands  on  her  sloping  shoulders,  the  Colonel  prom- 
ised as  she  asked  him.  But  that  evening,  Avriting  from  his 
office,  he  sent  a  communication  to  the  headquarters  of  the 
Department  of  the  Gulf,  requestmg  that  he  might  be  re- 
lieved from  his  quartermastership  and  assigned  to  duty 
with  the  army  in  the  field.  What  else  should  he  do  ?  He 
had  proved  himself  unfit  for  family  life,  unfit  for  business  ; 
but,  by  (this  and  that  and  th»  other)  he  could  command  a 
brigade  and  he  could  fight.  He  would  do  what  he  had 
done,  and  could  do  again,  with  credit.  Besides,  if  he  should 
win  distinction  at  Grande  Ecore,  it  might  prevent  an  in- 
vestigation into  that  infernal  muddle  of  cotton  and  steam- 
boats. A  great  deal  is  pardoned  by  the  public,  and  even 
by  the  War  Department,  to  courage,  capacity,  and  success. 

In  a  few  days  he  received  orders  from  the  General  com- 
manding, directing  him  to  report  to  the  headquarters  of  the 
army  in  the  field.  He  signed  his  last  quartermaster  papers 
gaily,  kissed  his  wife  and  child  sadly,  shook  hands  with 
Ravenel  and  Mrs.  Larue,  and  took  the  first  boat  up  the 
river. 

Lillie  was  amazed  and  shocked  at  discovering  how  little 
she  missed  him.  She  accused  herself  of  bemg  wicked  and 
heartless ;  she  would  not  accept  the  explanation  that  she 
v>'as  a  mother.  It  was  all  the  more  hateful  in  her  to  for- 
get him,  she  said,  noAV  that  he  was  the  father  of  her  child. 
Still,  she  could  not  be  miserable ;  she  was  almost  always 
happy  with  her  baby.  Such  a  lovely  baby  he  was ;  charm- 
ing because  he  was  heavy,  because  he  ate,  because  he 
slept,  because  he  cried !  His  wailing  troubled  her  because 
it  denoted  that  he  was  ill  at  ease,  and  not  because  the 
sound  was  in  itself  disagreeable  to  her  ear.  If  she  heard  it 
at  a  little  distance  from  the  house,  for  instance  when  re- 
T 


430         Miss     Ravexel's     Conversion 

returning  from  a  walk,  she  quickened  her  step  and  smiled 
gaily,  saj^ing,  "  He  is  alive.  You  will  see  how  he  will 
stop  when  I  take  him." 

People  who  feel  so  strongly  are  rarely  interesting  ex- 
cept to  those  who  share  their  feelings,  or  who  have  learned 
to  love  them  under  any  circumstances,  and  though  all  the 
metamorphoses  of  which  a  single  character  is  capable.  She 
would  have  been  perfectly  tedious  at  this  period  to  any  or- 
dinary acquaintance  who  had  not  been  initiated  into  the 
sweet  mystery  of  love  for  children.  Her  character  and  con- 
versation seemed  to  be  all  solved  in  the  great  alembic  of 
maternity.  She  was  a  mother  as  passionately  as  she  had 
been  a  betrothed  and  a  wife ;  and  indeed  it  appeared  as 
if  this  culminating  condition  of  her  womanhood  was  the 
most  absorbing  of  all.  This  exquisite  life,  delicious  in  spite 
of  her  occasional  anxieties  and  self-reproaches  concerning  her 
husband,  flowed  on  ^Tithout  much  mixture  of  trouble  until 
one  day  she  picked  up  a  letter  on  the  floor  of  her  father's 
study  which  opened  to  her  a  hitherto  inconceivable  foun- 
tain of  bitterness.  Let  us  see  how  this  unfortunate  manu- 
script found  its  way  into  the  house. 

Doctor  Ravenel,  deprived  for  the  last  two  years  of  his 
accustomed  summer  trip  to  Europe,  or  the  north,  or  other 
countries  blessed  with  a  mineralogy,  sought  health  and 
amusement  in  long  walks  about  Xew  Orleans  and  its  flat, 
ugly  vicinity.  Lillie,  who  used  to  be  his  comrade  in  these 
exercises,  now  took  constitutionals  in  the  pony  carriage  or 
in  company  T\Tlth  the  wicker  wagon  of  Master  Ravvie. 
These  strolls  of  the  Doctor  were  therefore  somewhat  dull 
business.  A  country  destitute  of  stones  was  to  him  much 
like  a  language  destitute  of  a  literature.  He  fell  into  a 
way  of  walking  without  paying  much  attention  to  his  sur- 
roundings, revolving  the  while  new  systems  of  mineralogy, 
crystallizing  his  knowledge  into  novel  classifications,  re- 
calling to  memory  the  characteristics  of  his  specimens,  as 
Lillie  recollected  the  giggles  and  cunning  ways  of  her  baby. 
In  one  of  these  absent-minded  moods  he  was  surprised  by 


From  Secessio?^    to    Loyalty..        431 

a  heavy  shower,  three  or  four  miles  from  home.  The  only 
shelter  was  a  deserted  shanty,  once  probably  the  dwelling 
of  a  free  negro.  A  minute  or  two  after  the  Doctor  found 
himself  in  its  single  room,  and  before  he  had  discovered 
the  soundest  part  of  its  leaky  roof,  a  man  in  the  imdress 
uniform  of  a  United  States  officer,  dripping  wet,  reeled  into 
the  doorway,  mth  the  observation,  "  By  Jove  !  this  is 
w^atering  my  rum." 

The  Doctor  immediately  recognized  in  the  herculean  fonn, 
bronzed  face,  black  eyes  and  twisted  nose,  the  personality 
of  Lieutenant  Yan  Zandt.  He  had  not  seen  him  for  nearly 
two  years,  but  the  man's  appearance  and  voice  were  un- 
forgettable. The  Doctor  was  charitable  in  philosophising 
concerning  coarse  and  vicious  people,  but  he  abominated 
their  society  and  always  avoided  it  if  possible.  He  looked 
about  him  for  a  means  of  escape  and  found  none  ;  the  man 
filled  up  the  only  door-way,  and  the  rain  was  descending  in 
torrents.  Accordingly  the  Doctor  turned  his  back  on  the 
Lieutenant  and  ruminated  mineralogy. 

"  I  prefer  plain  whisky,"  continued  Van  Zandt,  staring 
at  the  rain  with  a  contemptuous  grin.  "  I  don't  want,  by 
Jove  !  so  much  water  in  my  grog.  None  of  your  mixed 
drinks,  by  Jove  !     Plain  whisky  !" 

After  a  minute  more  of  glaring  and  smiling,  he  remarked, 
"  Dam  slow  business,  by  Jove  !  Van  Zandt,  my  bully 
boy,  we  won't  wait  to  see  this  thing  out.     We'll  turn  in." 

Facing  about  with  a  lurch  he  beheld  the  otfier  inmate 
of  the  shanty. 

"  Hullo  !"  he  exclaimed.  Then  recollecting  the  breeding 
of  his  youth,  he  added,  "  I  beg  pardon,  sir.  Am  I  mtrud- 
ing?" 

"  N'ot  at  all ;  of  course  not,"  replied  Ravenel.  "  Our 
rights  here  are  the  same." 

"  I  aiji  glad  to  hear  it.  And,  by  the  way,  have  the  kind- 
ness to  understand  me,  sir.  I  didn't  mean  to  insinuate 
that  I  supposed  this  to  be  your  residence.  J[.only  thought 
that  you  might  be  the  proprietor  of  the  estate." 


432         Miss     Kavexel's     Conversion       * 

"Xot  so  unfortunate,"  said  tlie  Doctor. 

The  Lieutenant  laughed  like  a  twelve-pound  brass  how- 
itzer, the  noisiest  gun,  I  believe,  in  existence. 

"  Very  good,  sir.  The  more  a  man  owns  here  in  Louis- 
iana, the  poorer  he  is.  That's  just  my  opinion,  sir.  I  feel 
honored  in  agreeing  with  you,  sir.  By  Jove,  I  own  noth- 
ing.    I  couldn't  afford  it — on  my  pay." 

A  stream  of  water  from  a  hole  in  the  roof  was  pattering 
on  his  broad  back,  but  he  took  no  notice  of  it,  and  probably 
was  not  conscious  of  it.  He  stared  at  the  Doctor  with  un- 
blinking, bulgmg  eyes,  not  in  the  least  recollecting  him, 
but  perfectly  conscious  that  he  was  -in  the  presence  of  a 
gentleman.  Drunk  or  sober,  Van  Zandt  never  forgot  that 
he  came  of  old  Knickerbocker  stock,  and  never  failed  to 
accord  respect  to  aristocratic  demeanor  wherever  he 
found  it. 

"  I  beg  your  pardon,  sir,"  he  resumed.  "  You  must  ex- 
cuse me  lor  addressing  you  in  this  free  and  easy  way.  I 
only  saw  you  indistmctly  at  first,  sir,  and  couldn't  judge 
as  to  your  social  position  and  individual  character.  I  per- 
ceive that  you  are  a  gentleman,  sir.  You  will  excuse  me 
for  mentioning  that  I  coP-ie  of  an  old  Knickerbocker  family 
which  dates  in  American  history  from  the  good  old  jolly 
Dutch  times  of  Peter  Stuyvesant — God  bless  his  jolly  old 
Dutch  memory  !  You  Tvill  understand,  sir,  that  a  man 
who  feels  such  blood  as  that  in  his  veins  is  glad  to  meet  a 
o;entleman  anywhere,  even  in  such  a  cursed  old  hovel  as 
this,  as  leaky  and  rickety,  by  Jove  !  as  the  Southern  Con- 
federacy. And,  sir,  in  that  connection  allow  me  to  say, 
hoping  no  offence  if  you  hold  a  contrary  opmion,  that  the 
Confederacy  is  played  out.  We  licked  them  on  the  Red 
River,  sir.  The  bully  old  First  Division — God  bless  its 
ragged  old  flags  !  I  can't  speak  of  them  without  feeling 
my  eyes  water — much  as  I  hate  the  fluid — the  jolly,  fight- 
ing old  First  Division  fairly  murdered  them  at  Sabme 
Cross  Roads.  At  Pleasant  Hill  the  old  First,  and  Andrew 
Jackson   Smith's  western  boys  laid  them  out  over  two 


FROii     Secession    to     Loyalty.  433 

miles  square  of  prairie.  If  we  had  had  a  cracker  in  our 
havresacks  ^ye  would  have  gone  bang  up  to  Shreveport — if 
we  had  had  a  cracker  apiece,  and  the  firm  of  W.  C.  Do 
you  know  what  I  mean,  sir,  by  W.  C  ?  Weitzel  and  Car- 
ter !  Those  are  the  boys  for  an  advance.  That's  the  firm 
that  our  brigade  and  division  banks  on.  TVeitzel  and 
Carter  would  have  taken  us  to  Shreveport,  with  or  without 
crackers,  by  Jove  !  We  wanted  nothmg  but  energy.  If 
we  had  had  half  the  go,  the  vim,  the  forward  march,  to 
lead  us,  that  the  rebels  had,  we  would  have  finished  the 
war  in  the  southwest.  We  must  take  a  leaf  out  of  Johnny 
Reb's  book.  Fas  est  ah  hosted  doceri.  I  believe  I  quote 
correctly.  If  not,  please  correct  me.  By  the  way,  did  I 
mention  to  you  that  I  am  a  graduate  of  Columbia  CoUert'e 
in  Xew  York  City  ?  Allow  me  to  repeat  the  statement. 
I  have  reason  to  be  proud  of  the  fact,  inasmuch  as  I  took 
the  Greek  salutatory,  the  second  highest  honor,  sir,  of  the 
graduation.  You  are  a  college  man  yourself,  sir,  I  per- 
ceive, and  can  make  allowance  for  my  vanity  in  the  cir- 
cumstance. But  I  am  wandering  fron  my  subject.  I  was 
speakmg,  I  believe,  of  Colonel  Carter — I  beg  his  pardon — 
General  Carter.  At  last,  sir,  the  Administration  has  done 
justice  to  one  of  the  most  gallant  and  capable  ofiicors  in 
the  service.  So  much  the  better  for  the  Administration. 
Colonel  Carter — I  beg  pardon — General  Carter  is  not  only 
an  oflicer  but  a  gentleman ;  not  one  of  those  plebeian  hum- 
bugs whom  our  ridiculous  Democracy  delights  4o  call 
nature's  gentlemen;  but  a  gentleman  born  and  bred — 
1171  echayitillon  de  bonne  race — a  jet  of  pure  old  sangre  azul. 
I,  who  am  an  old  Knickerbocker — as  I  believe  I  had  the 
honor  to  inform  you — I  delight  to  see  such  men  put  for- 
ward.    Don't  you,  sir  ?" 

The  Doctor  admitted  with  a  polite  smile  that  the  promo- 
tion of  General  Carter  gave  him  pleasure. 

"  I  knew  it  would,  sir.  You  came  of  good  blood  your- 
self. I  can  see  it  in  your  manners  and  conversation,  sir. 
"Well,  as  I  was  saymg,  the  promotion  of  Carter  is  one  of 

T 


434        Miss    Rave  x  el's     Conversion 

the  most  intelligent  mores  of  the  Admmistration.  Carter— 
I  \)eg  pardon — I  don't  mean  to  insinuate  that  I  am  on 
familiar  terms  with  him — I  acknowledge  him  as  my  supe- 
rior officer  and  keep  my  distance — General  Carter  is  born 
for  command  and  for  victory.  Wherever  he  goes  he  con- 
quers. He  is  triumphant  in  tJie  field  and  in  the  boudoir. 
He  is  victorious  over  man  and  women.  By  Jove,  sir," 
(here  he  gave  a  saturnine  chuckle,  and  leer.)  "  I  came 
across  the  most  amusing  proof  of  his  capacity  for  bringing 
the  fair  sex  to  a  surrender." 

The  Doctor  grew  uneasy,  and  looked  out  anxiously  at 
the  pouring  rain,  but  saw  no  chance  of  effecting  an  escape. 

"  You  see,  sir,  I  am  wounded,"  continued  Van  Zandt. 
"  They  gave  me  a  welt  at  Port  Hudson,  and  they  gave  me 
another  at  Pleasant  Hill." 

"  3Iy  dear  sir,  you  will  catch  your  death,  standing  un- 
der the  drippmg  in  that  way,"  said  the  Doctor. 

"  Thank  you,  sir,"  replied  Van  Zandt,  changhig  his  posi- 
tion. "Xo  great  harm,  however.  Water,  sir,  doesn't 
hurt  me,  unless  it  gets  into  my  whiskey.  Exteriorly  it  is 
simply  disagreeable ;  interiorly  the  same,  as  well  as  in- 
jurioas.  Xot  that  I  am  opposed  to  bathing.  On  the  con- 
trary, it  is  my  practice  to  take  a  sponge  bath  every  morn- 
ing— that  is,  Avlien  I  don't  sleej)  withui  musket  range  of 
the  enemy.  Well,  as  I  was  saying,  they  gave  me  a  welt 
at  Pleasant  Hill — a  mere  flesh  wound  through  the  thigh — 
nothing  worth  blathering  about — and  I  was  sent  to  St. 
James  Hospital.  I  can't  stand  the  hospital.  I  don't  fancy 
the  fare  at  the  milk-toast  table,  sir.  (This  with  a  grimace  of 
unutterable  disgust.)  I  took  out  a  two-legged  leave  of 
absence  to-day,  and  went  over  to  the  Lake  House  ;  lost  my 
horse  there,  and  had  to  foot  it  back  to  the  city.  That  is 
how  I  came  to  have  the  pleasure  of  listening  to  your  con- 
versation here,  sir.  But  I  believe  I  was  speaking  of  Gen- 
eral Carter.  Some  miserable  light  wine  which  I  had  the 
folly  to  drink  at  the  Lake  has  muddled  my  head,  I  fancy. 
Plain  whisky  is  the  only  safe  thmg.    Allow  me  to  recom- 


Feom     Secession     to     Loyalty.         435 

mend  you  to  stick  to  it,  I  wish  we  had  a  canteen  of  hon- 
est commissary  now ;  we  coukl  pass  the  night  very 
comfortably,  sir.  But  I  was  speaking  of  General  Carter, 
and  liis  qualities  as  an  officer.  Ah !  I  remember.  I  men- 
tioned a  letter,  ^nd,  by  Jove  !  here  it  is  in  my  breast- 
pocket, soaked  with  this  cursed  water.  If  you  will  .have 
the  goodness  to  peruse  it,  you  will  see  that  I  am  not  ex- 
aggeratmg  when  I  boast  of  the  conquests  of  my  superior 
officer.  The  lady  frankly  owns  up  to  the  fact  that  she  has 
surrendered  to  him ;  no  caj^itulation,  no  terms,  no  honors 
of  war ;  unconditional  surrender,  by  Jove  !  a  U.  S.  G.  sur- 
render.    It  is  an  unreserved  coming  down  of  the  coon." 

"  It  is  one  of  Lillie's  letters,"  thought  Ravenel.  "  This 
drunkard  does  not  know  that  the  General  is  married,  and 
mistakes  the  frank  affi?ction  of  a  wife  for  the  illicit  passion 
of  an  intriguante.  It  is  best  that  I  should  expose  the  mis- 
take and  prevent  further  misrepresentation." 

He  took  the  moist,  blurred  sheet,  unfolded  it,  and  found 
the  envelope  carefully  doubled  up  inside.  It  was  addressed 
to  "  Colonel  J.  T.  Carter,"  with  the  addition  in  one  corner 
of  the  word  "  personal."  The  handwriting  was  not  Lillie's, 
but  a  large,  round  hand,  foreign  in  style,  and,  as  he  judged, 
feigned.  Glancing  at  the  chirography  of  the  note  itself,  he 
immediately  recognized,  as  he  thought,  the  small,  close, 
neat  penmanship  of  Mrs.  Larue.  Van  Zandt  was  too  drunk 
to  notice  how  j^ale  the  Doctor  turned,  and  how  his  hand 
trembled. 

"  By  Jove  !  I  am  tired,"  said  the  Bacchanal.  "  I  shall, 
with  your  permission,  take  the  d — st  nap  that  ever  was 
heard  of  since  the  days  of  the  seven  sleepers.  Don't  be 
alarmed,  sir,  at  my  snoring.  I  go  off  like  a  steamboat 
bursting  its  boiler." 

Tearing  a  couple  of  boards  from  the  wall  of  the  shanty, 
he  laid  them  side  by  side  in  one  corner,  selected  a  blackened 
stone,  from  the  fire-place  for  a  pillow,  put  his  cap  on  it, 
stretched  himself  out  ^Hth  an  inebriated  smile,  and  was 
fast  asleep  before  the  Doctor  had  decided  whether  he  would 


436        Miss    Kavenel's     Conversion 

or  -svould  not  read  the  letter.  He  was  most  anxious  to 
establish  innocence;  if  there  Tras  any  guilt,  he  did  not 
want  to  know  it.  He  ran  over  all  of  Mrs.  Larue's  conduct 
since  the  marriage,  and  could  not  call  to  mind  a  smgle  cir- 
cumstance Avhich  had  excited  in  him  a^  suspicion  of  evil. 
She  was  coquettish,  and,  he  feared,  nnprmcipled  ;  but  he 
could  not  believe  that  she  was  desperately  wicked.  Nev- 
ertheless, as  he  did  not  understand  the  woman,  as  he  er- 
roneously supposed  her  to  be  of  an  ardent,  impulsive  na- 
ture, he  thought  it  possible  that  she  had  been  fascinated 
by  the  presence  of  such  a  masculine  bemg  as  Carter.  Of 
him  as  yet  he  had  no  suspicion :  no,  he  could  not  have 
been  false,  even  in  thought,  to  his  young  wife  ;  or,  as  Rav- 
enel  j^hrased  it  to  himself,  "  to  my  daughter."  He  would 
read  the  letter  and  probe  the  ugly  mystery  and  discover 
the  falsity  of  its  terrors.  As  he  unfolded  the  paper  he  was 
checked  by  the  thought  that  to  peruse  unbidden  a  lady's^ 
correspondence  was  hardly  honorable.  But  there  was  a 
reply  to  that :  the  mischief  of  publicity  had  already  com- 
menced ;  the  sleeping  drunkard  there  had  read  the  letter. 
After  all,  it  might  be  a  mere  joke,  a  burlesque,  an  April- 
Fool  affair ;  and  if  so,  it  was  properly  his  business  to  dis- 
cover it  and  to  make  the  explanation  to  Van  Zandt.  And 
if,  on  the  other  hand,  it  should  be  really  a  confession  of 
criminal  feeluig,  it  was  his  duty  to  be  mformed  of  that  also, 
in  order  that  he  might  be  able  to  protect  the  domestic 
peace  of  his  daughter. 

He  read  the  letter  through,  and  then  sat  down  on  the 
door-sill,  regardless  of  the  driving  rain.  There  was  no 
charitable  doubt  possible  m  the  matter  ;  the  writer  was  a 
guilty  woman,  and  she  addressed  a  guilty  man.  The  letter 
alluded  clearly  and  even  grossly  to  past  assignations,  and 
fixed  the  day  and  hour  for  a  future  one.  Carter's  name 
did  not  appear  except  on  the  envelope  ;  but  his  avocations 
and  business  hours  were  alluded  to  ;  the  fact  of  their  voyage 
together  to  New  York  was  mentioned  ;  there  was  no  doubt 
that  he  was  the  man.     The  Doctor  was  more  miserable  than 


Feom    Secession     to    Loyalty.       437 

he  remembered  to  have  been  before  since  tbe  death  of  his 
Avite.  After  half  an  liour  of  wretched  meditation,  walking 
meanwhile  up  and  down  the  puddles  wliich  had  collected 
on  the  earthen  floor  of  the  shanty,  he  became  aware  that 
the  rain  had  ceased,  and  set  out  on  his  miserable  'walk 
homeward. 

Should  he  destroy  the  letter  ?  Should  he  give  it  to  Mrs. 
Larue  and  crush  her  ?  Should  he  send  it  to  Carter  ?  Should 
he  show  it  to  Lillie  ?  How  could  he  answer  any  one  of 
these  horrible  questions  ?  What  right  had  Fate  to  put  such 
questions  to  him  ?     It  was  not  his  crime. 

On  reachmg  home  he  changed  his  wet  clothes,  put  the 
billet  in  his  pocket-book,  sat  down  to  the  dinner-table  and 
tried  to  seem  cheerful.  But  Lillie  soon  asked  him,  "  What 
is  the  matter  with  you,  papa  ?" 

"  I  got  wet,  my  dear.  It  was  a  very  hard  walk  back 
through  the  mud.  I  am  quite  worn  out.  I  believe  I  shall 
go  to  bed  early." 

She  repeated  her  question  two  or  three  times  :  not  that 
she  suspected  the  truth,  or  suspected  anything  more  than 
just  what  he  told  her :  but  because  she  was  anxious  about 
his  health,  and  because  she  had  a  habit  of  putting  many 
questions.  Even  m  the  absorption  of  his  inexj^licable 
trouble  she  worried  him,  so  that  he  grew  fretful  at  her  im- 
portunity, and  answered  her  cris^^ly,  that  he  was  well 
enough,  and  needed  nothmg  but  quiet.  Then  suddenly  he 
repented  himself  with  invisible  tears,  wondering  at  his 
irrational  and  seemingly  cruel  peevishness,  and  seeming 
to  excuse  himself  to  himself  by  calling  to  mind  that  he  was 
tormented  on  her  account.  He  almost  had  a  return  of  his 
vexation  when  Lillie  commenced  upon  him  about  her  hus- 
band, asking,  "  Isn't  it  time  to  hear,  papa  ?  And  how  soon 
do  you  think  I  will  get  a  letter  ?" 

"  Very  soon,  my  dear,"  he  replied  gloomily,  remember- 
ing the  wicked  letter  m  his  pocket,  and  clenching  his  hands 
under  the  table  to  resist  a  sudden  impulse  to  give  it  to  her. 


438         Miss    Raven  el's    Conversion 

"  I  hope  there  will  be  no  more  battles.  Don't  you  think 
that  the  fighting  is  over  ?" 

"  Perhaps  it  may  be  best  for  him  to  have  a  battle." 

"  Oh  no,  papa  !  He  lias  his  promotion.  I  am  perfectly 
satisfied.     I  don't  want  him  to  fight  any  more."     - 

The  father  made  no  answer,  for  he  could  not  tell  her 
what  he  thought,  which  was  that  perhaps  her  husbandhad 
better  die.  It  must  be  remembered  that  he  did  not  know 
that  the  intrigue  had  terminated. 

"  Here  comes  the  little  Brigadier,"  said  Lillie,  when  the 
baby  made  his  usual  after-dinner  irruption  into  the  parlor. 

"  Isn't  he  sweet  ?"  she  asked  for  the  ten  thousandth 
time,  as  she  took  him  from  the  hands  of  the  nurse  and  put 
him  m  her  father's  lap.  The  cooing,  jumping,  clinging 
infant  clawing  at  watch-chain,  neck-tie  and  spectacles,  soft, 
helpless  and  harmless,  gave  the  Doctor  the  first  emotion 
similar  to  happiness  which  he  had  felt  for  the  last  three 
hours.  How  we  fly  for  consolation  to  the  dependent  in- 
nocence of  childhood  when  we  have  been  grievously  and 
lastingly  wounded  by  the  perfidy  or  cruelty  of  the  adult 
creatures  in  whom  we  had  put  our  trust !  Stricken  ones 
who  have  no  children  sometimes  take  up  ^-ith  dogs  and 
cats,  knowing  that,  if  they  are  feeble,  they  are  also  faith- 
ful. But  with  the  baby  in  his  arms,  Ravenel  could  not 
decide  what  to  do  with  the  baby's  father;  and  so  he 
handed  the  boy  back  to  his  mother,  saying  with  more 
significance  of  manner  than  he  intended,  "There,  my  dear, 
there  is  your  comfort." 

"Papa,  you  are  sick,"  replied  Lillie,  looking  at  him 
anxiously.     "  Do  lie  down  on  the  sofa." 

"  I  will  go  to  my  room  and  go  to  bed,"  said  he.  "  It  is 
eight  o'clock ;  and  it  will  do  me  no  harm  if  I  sleep  twelve 
hours  to-night.  Xow  don't  follow  me,  my  child;  don't 
tease  me.     I  only  want  rest." 

After  kissing  her  and  the  child  he  hurried  away,  for  he 
heard  Mrs.  Larue  coming  through  the  back  hall  toward  the 
parlor,  and  as  frequently  happens,  the  innocent  had  not  the 


Feom     Secession    to     Loyaltt.  439 

audacity  to  face  the  guilty.  In  the  passage  he  paused, 
glanced  back  through  the  crack  of  the  door,  and  was 
amazed,  almost  infuriated,  to  see  that  woman  kneel  at 
Lillie's  feet  and  fondle  the  baby  ^vith  her  usual  air  of  girl- 
ish gayety. 

"  What  infernal  hypocrisy  !"  he  muttered  as  he  turned 
away,  a  little  indignant  at  the  giggling  delight  with  which 
liavvie  welcomed  the  well-known  visitor.  His  charitable 
philosophy  had  all  evaporated  for  the  time,  and  he  could 
not  believe  that  this  wicked  creature  had  a  spark  of  good 
in  her,  not  even  enough  to  smile  upon  a  child  honestly. 
To  his  mind  the  caresses  which  she  lavished  on  Ravvie 
were  part  of  a  deep-laid  plan  of  devilish  deceit. 

Four  wretched  houi-s  passed  over  him,  and  at  midnight 
Jie  was  still  undecided  what  to  do.  There  were  fathers  in 
Louisiana  who  did  not  mind  this  sort  of  thing  ;  but  he 
could  not  understand  those  fathers  ;  he  minded  it.  There 
were  fathers  who  would  simply  say  to  an  erring  son-in- 
law  over  a  glass  of  wine,  "  Xow  look  here,  my  dear  sir, 
you  must  be  cautious  about  publicity ;"  or  Avho  would 
quietly  send  Mrs.  Larue  her  letter,  with  a  note  politely  re- 
questing that  she  would  make  arrangements  which  would 
not  interfere  with  the  quiet  of,  "  Yours  very  respectfully," 
etc.  But  such  fathers  could  not  love  their  daughters  as  he 
loved  his,  and  could  not  have  such  a  daughter  as  he  had. 
To  be  false  to  Lillie  was  an  almost  un2:)aralleled  crime — 
a  crime  wliich  demanded  not  only  reproach  but  punish- 
ment ;  a  crime  which,  if  passed  over,  would  derange  the 
moral  balance  of  the  universe.  It  seemed  to  him  that  he 
must  show  Lillie  the  letter,  and  take  her  away  from  this 
unworthy  husband,  and  carry  her  north  or  somewhither 
where  she  should  never  see  him  more.  This  was  vrhat 
ought  to  be  ;  but  then  it  might  kill  her.  Late  in  the  night, 
when  he  fell  asleep  on  the  outside  of  his  bed,  still  dressed, 
his  light  still  burning,  the  letter  m  his  hand,  he  had  not 
yet  decided  what  to  do. 

About  dawn,  awakened  early  as  usual  by  the  creeping 


440        Miss    Ravenel's     Conversion 

of  Ravvie,  Lillie  tlioiiglit  of  her  father,  and  slipping  on  a 
clressiiiGr-^own,  stole  to  his  room  to  see  if  he  were  well  or 
ill.  She  was  alarmed  to  find  him  dressed,  and  looking 
pale  and  sunken.  Before  she  had  decided  whether  to  let 
him  sleep  on,  or  to  awaken  him  and  tell  him  to  go  to  bed 
as  a  sick  man  should,  her  eye  fell  upon  the  letter.  It  must 
be  that  which  had  made  him  so  gloomy  and  strange.  What 
could  it  be  about  ?  Had  he  lost  his  place  at  the  hospital  ? 
That  need  not  trouble  him,  for  her  husband  had  left  her 
two  thousand  dollars  in  bank,  and  he  would  not  object  to 
have  her  share  it  with  her  father.  Her  husband  was  so 
generous  and  lovmg,  that  she  could  trust  his  affection  for 
any  thmg  !  She  was  accustomed  to  open  and  read  her  fa- 
ther's letters  without  asking  his  permission.  She  took  up 
this  one,  and  glanced  through  it  with  delirious  haste.  The 
Doctor  was  awakened  by  a  shriek  of  agony,  and  found 
Lillie  senseless  on  the  floor,  with  the  open  letter  under  her 
hand. 

Xow  he  knew  what  to  do ;  she  must  go  far  away  at  once 
— she  must  never  again  see  her  husband. 


CHAPTER  XXXH. 

A   MOST   LOGICAL    CONCLUSION. 

When  Lillie  came  to  her  senses  she  A^-as  lying  on  her 
father's  bed.  For  some  minutes  he  had  been  bending  over 
her,  watching  her  i:)ulse,  bathiJig  her  forehead,  tissing  her, 
and  calling  her  by  name  in  a  hoarse,  frightened  whisper. 
He  was  aware  that  msensibility  was  her  best  fiiend ;  but 
he  must  know  at  once  whether  she  would  live  or  die.  At 
first  she  lay  quiet,  silent,  recollectmg,  trying  not  to  be- 
lieve ;  then  she  suddenly  plunged  her  face  into  the  pillow 
with  a  groan  of  unspeakable  anguish.  It  was  not  for  five 
or  ten  minutes  longer,  not  until  he  had  called  her  by  every 
imaginable  epithet  of  pity  and  tenderness,  that  she  turned 


Frox     Secession    to     Loyalty.        441 

toward  him  with  another  spasmodic  throe,  clasped  his 
head  to  her  bosom,  and  burst  into  an  impetuous  sobbing 
and  low  crying.  Still  she  did  not  speak  an  mtelligible 
word  ;  her  teeth  were  set  firm,  as  if  in  bodily  pain,  and  her 
sobs  came  through  her  parted  lips  ;  she  would  not  look  at 
him  either,  and  kept  her  eyes  closed,  or  turned  u^Dward 
distractedly.  It  seemed  as  if,  even  in  the  midst  of  her 
anguish,  she  was  stung  by  shame  at  the  nature  of  the  ca- 
lamity, so  insulting  to  her  pride  as  a  woman  and  wife. 
After  a  while  this  paroxysm  ceased,  and  she  lay  silent 
again,  while  another  icy  wave  of  despair  flowed  over  her, 
her  consciousness  bemg  expressed  solely  in  a  trembling  of 
her  cheeks,  her  lips,  and  her  fingers.  "When  he  whispered, 
"TVe  will  go  north,  we  will  never  come  back  here," 
•  she  made  no  sign  of  assent  or  objection.  She  did  not 
answer  him  in  any  manner  until  he  asked  her  if  she  wanted 
Ravvie  ;  but  then  she  leaped  at  the  proffered  consolation, 
the  gift  of  Heaven's  pity,  with  a  passionate  "  Yes  !"  For 
an  anxious  half  hour  the  Doctor  left  her  alone  ^dth  her 
child,  knowing  that  it  was  the  best  he  could  do  for  her. 

One  thing  he  must  attend  to  at  once.  Steps  must  be 
taken  to  j^revent  Mrs.  Larue  from  crossing  his  daughter's 
sight  even  for  a  moment.  See  the  woman  himself  he  could 
not ;  not,  at  least,  until  she  were  dead.  He  enclosed  her 
billet  to  her  m  a  sealed  envelope,  adding  the  following 
note,  which  cost  him  many  minutes  to  write — 

"  Madame :  The  accompanying  letter  has  fallen  into  the 
hands  of  my  daughter.  She  is  dangerously  ill.  I  hope 
that  you  will  have  the  humanity  not  to  meet  her  again." 

When  the  housemaid  returned  from  delivermg  the  pack- 
age he  said  to  her,  "  Julia,  did  you  give  it  to  Mrs.  Larue  ?" 

"  Yes  sah." 

"Did  you  give  it  into  her  own  hands  ?" 

"  Yes  sah.     She  was  in  bed,  an'  I  gin  it  to  herself." 

"What — how  did  she  look?"  asked' the  Doctor  after  a 
moment's  hesitation. 

T  2 


442         Miss    Ravexel's     Coxveksion 

"  She  dicVn  look  nohow.  She  jess  lit  a  match  an'  burned 
the  letter  up." 

Tlie  Doctor  was  aghast  at  the  horrible,  hard-hearted 
corruptness  implied  by  such  coolness  and  forethought.  But 
in  point  of  fact,  Mrs.  Larue  had  been  startled  far  beyond 
her  common  wont,  and  was  now  more  profoundly  grieved 
than  she  had  ever  been  before  in  her  life. 

"  What  a  pity  !"  she  said  several  times  to  herself  "  I 
have  made  them  very  miserable.  I  have  done  mischief 
when  I  meant  none.  Why  didn't  the  stupid  creature 
burn  the  letter  !  I  burned  all  his.  What  a  pity  !  AVell, 
at  any  rate  it  will  go  no  farther." 

She  had  her  trunks  packed  and  drove  immediately  after 
breakfast  to  Carrollton,  where  she  remained  secluded  in  the 
hotel  until  she  found  a  private  boardmg  house  in  the  un-  • 
frequented  outskirts  of  the  village.  It  the  Ravenels  moved 
away,  her  man  servant  was  to  mform  her,  so  that  she 
might  return  to  her  house.  She  realized  perfectly  the  in- 
humanity of  encountering  Lillie,  and  was  resolved  that  no 
such  meeting  should  take  place,  no  matter  what  might  be 
the  exj^ense  of  keeping  up  two  establishments.  In  her 
pity  and  regret  she  was  almost  willing  to  sell  her  house  at 
a  loss,  or  shut  it  uj)  mthout  rent,  and  pinch  herself  in 
some  northern  city,  supposing  that  the  Ravenels  concluded 
to  stay  in  Xew  Orleans.  "  I  owe  them  that  much,"  she 
thought,  Tsith  a  consciousness  of  bemg  generous,  and  not 
bad-hearted.  Then  she  sighed,  and  said  aloud,  "  Poor 
Lillie  !  I  am  so  sorry  for  her  !  But  she  has  a  baby,  and 
for  liis  -sake  she  will  forgive  her  husband." 

And  then  a  feelmg  came  over  her  that  she  would  like  to 
see  the  baby,  and  that  it  would  have  been  a  j^leasure  to  at 
least  kiss  it  good-bye. 

The  family  mth  which  she  lived  consisted  of  a  man  of 
sixty  and  his  wife,  ^vith  two  unmarried  daughters  of 
twenty-eight  and  thirty,  the  parents  Xew  Englanders,  the 
children  born  in  Louisiana,  but  all  alike  orthodox,  devout, 
silent,  after  the  old  fashion  of  Xew  England.     The  father 


Fko^i     Secession     to     Loyalty.         443 

was  a  cotton  broker,  nearly-  bankrupted  by  the  Rebellion, 
and  was  glad  for  pecuniary  reasons  to  receive  a  respect- 
able boarder.  Such  a  household  Mrs.  Larue  had  chosen 
as  an  asylum,  believmg  that  she  would  be  benefited  just 
now  by  an  odor  of  sanctity,  if  it  were  only  derived  from 
propinquity.  Something  might  get  out ;  Lillie  might  go 
delirious  and  make  disclosures ;  and  it  was  well  to  build 
up  a  character  for  staidness.  The  idea  of  entering  a  con- 
vent she  rejected'the  moment  that  it  occurred  to  her.  "  This 
is  monastic  enough,"  she  thought  with  a  repressed  smile  as 
she  looked  at  the  serious  faces  of  her  Presbyterian  hosts 
male  and  female. 

The  Aliens  became  as  much  infatuated  with  her  as  did 
the  Chaplain  on  board  the  Creole,  or  the  venerable  D.  D. 
in  Xew  York  city.  Her  modest  and  retiring  manner,  her 
amiability,  cheerfulness,  and  sprightly  conversation,  made 
her  the  most  charmmg  person  in  their  eyes  that  they  had 
ever  met.  The  daughters  regained  somethmg  of  their 
blighted  youthfulness  under  the  sunny  mfluences  of  her 
presence,  aided  by  the  wisdom  of  her  counsel,  and  the  cun- 
ning of  her  fingers  in  matters  of  the  toilet.  Mrs.  Allen 
kissed  her  with  motherly  afiection  every  time  that  she 
bade  the  family  good-night.  The  old  trick  of  showing  a 
mind  ripe  for  conversion  from  Popery  was  played  vnth  the 
usual  success.  After  she  had  left  the  house,  and  when  she 
was  once  more  receivmg  and  flirting  m  New  Orleans,  Mr. 
Allen  used  to  excite  her  laughter  by  presenting  her  ^Tith 
tracts  against  Romanism,  or  lending  her  volumes  of  ser- 
mons by  emment  Protestant  divines.  Not  that  she  ever 
laughed  at  him  to  his  face :  she  would  as  soon  have  thought 
of  striking  him  Avith  her  fist ;  she  was  too  good-natured 
and  well-bred  to  commit  either  impertinence. 

For  the  sake  of  appearances  she  remained  in  the  country 
a  week  or  more  after  the  Ravenels  had  left  the  city.  Re- 
stored to  her  own  house,  she  found  herself  somewhat  lone- 
ly for  lack  of  her  relatives,  and  somewhat  gloomy,  or  at 
least   annoyed,  when  she  thought  of  the   cause   of   the 


444         Miss     Rayenel's     Coxversiox 

separation.  But  there  Avas  no  need  of  continning  soli- 
tude ;  any  quantity  of  army  society  could  be  had  by  such 
New  Orleans  ladies  as  wished  it ;  and  Mrs.  Lainie  finally 
resolved  to  break  with  treason,  and  flirt  with  loyalty  in 
gilt  buttons.  In  a  short  time  her  parlor  was  frequented 
by  gentlemen  who  wore  silver  leaves  and  eagles  and  stars 
on  their  shoulders,  and  the  loss  of  Colonel  Carter  was  more 
than  made  up  to  her  by  the  devotion  of  persons  who  were 
mightier  in  counsel  and  in  war  than  he.  The  very  latest 
news  from  her  is  of  a  highly  satisfactory  character.  It  is 
reported  that  she  was  fortunate  enough  to  gain  the  special 
favor  of  an  official  personage  very  high  in  authoiity  in 
some  unmentionable  departnient  of  the  South,  who,  as  a 
mark  of  his  gratitude,  gave  her  a  permit  to  trade  for  seve- 
ral thousand  bales  of  cotton.  This  curious  billet-doux  she 
sold  to  a  Xew  York  speculator  for  fifteen  thousand  dol- 
lars, thereby  re-establishmg  her  somewhat  dila2>idated  for- 
tunes. 

Just  as  a  person  whose  dwelling  falls  about  his  head  is 
sometimes  preserved  from  death  by  some  fragment  of  the 
wreck  which  prostrates  him,  but  preserves  him  from  the 
mass,  so  Lillie  was  shielded  from  the  full  pressure  of  her 
misery  by  a  short  fever,  bringing  with  it  a  few  days  of 
delirium,  and  a  long  prostration,  during  which  she  had  not 
strength  to  feel  acutely.  When  we  must  bend  or  break, 
Nature  often  takes  us  in  her  own  pitying  hands,  and  lays 
ns  gently  upon  beds  of  insensibility  or  semi-consciousness. 
Thanks  be  to  Heaven  for  the  merciful  opiate  of  sickness ! 

During  the  fever  two  letters  arrived  from  Carter,  but 
Ravenel  put  them  away  ^-ithout  showing  them  to  the  in- 
valid. For  some  time  she  did  not  inquire  about  her  hus- 
band ;  when  she  thought  of  him  too  keenly  she  asked  with 
a  start  for  her  baby.  Nature  contmually  led  her  to  that 
tender,  helpless,  speechless,  potent  consoler.  The  moment 
it  was  safe  for  her  to  travel,  Ravenel  put  her  on  board  a 
vessel  bound  to  New  York,  choosing  a  sailing  craft,  not 
only  for  economy's  sake,  but  to  secure  the   benefit  of  a 


Feom     Secession    to    Loyalty.       445 

lengthy  voyage,  and  to  keep  longer  away  from  all  news 
of  earth  and  men.  She  made  no  objection  to  going  ;  her 
f^ither  wished  it  to  be  so ;  it  was  right  enough.  The  voy- 
age lasted  three  weeks,  during  which  she  slowly  regamed 
strength,  and  as  a  consequence  something  of  her  old  cheer- 
fulness and  hopefulness.  The  Doctor  had  a  strong  faith 
that  she  would  not  be  broken  down  by  her  calamity.  ^  Xot 
only  was  her  temper  gay  and  remarkable  for  its  elasticity, 
but  her  physical  constitution  seemed  to  partake  of  the 
same  characteristics,  and  she  had  always  recovered  from 
sickness  with  rapidity.  Xot  a  bit  disposed  to  broodmg, 
taking  a  lively  interest  in  whatever  went  on  around  her, 
she  would  not  fall  an  easy  pi4y  to  confirmed  melancholy. 
The  Doctor  never  alluded  to  her  husband,  and  when  Lillie 
at  last  mentioned  his  name,  it  was  merely  to  say,  "  I  hope 
he  will  not  be  killed." 

"  I  hope  not,"  replied  Ravenel  gently,  and  stopped  there. 
He  could  not,  however,  repress  a  brief  glance  of  surprise 
and  investigation.  Could  it  be  that  she  would  come  to 
forgive  that  man  ?  Had  he  been  too  hasty  m  dragging 
her  away  from  Xew  Orleans,  and  giving  up  the  moderate 
salary  which  was  so  necessary  to  them  both  ?  But  no  :  it 
would  kill  her  to  meet  Mrs.  Larue :  they  must  never  go 
back  to  that  Sodom  of  a  city. 

The  question  of  income  was  a  serious  one.  He  was 
nearly  at  the  end  of  his  own  resources,  and  he  had  not 
suffered  Lillie  to  draw  any  of  her  perfidious  husband's 
money.  But  he  did  not  dwell  much  on  these  pecuniary 
questions  now,  being  chiefly  occupied  with  the  moral  fu- 
ture of  his  child,  wondermg  much  whether  she  would  m- 
deed  forgive  her  husband,  and  whether  she  would  ever 
again  be  happy.  Of  course  it  was  not  until  they  reached 
Xew  York  that  they  learned  the  cTcnts  which  I  must  now 
relate. 

Carter  joined  the  army  at  Grande  Ecore  just  before  it 
resumed  field  operations.  Bailey's  famous  dam  had  let 
Porter  out  of  his  trap ;  the  monitors,  the  gunboats,  the  Ad- 


446         Miss     Ravexel's     Conversion 

iniral,  were  on  their  way  down  the  river ;  it  was  too  late 
to  go  to  Shreveport,  or  to  gather  cotton  ;  and  so  the  column 
set  out  rearward.  That  it  was  strong  enough  to  take  care 
of  itself  against  any  force  which  the  rebels  could  bring  to 
cut  oif  the  retreat  was  well  known ;  and  Carter  assumed 
command  of  his  new  brigade  with  a  sense  of  elation  at  the 
prospect  of  fighting,  which  he  had  little  reason  to  doubt 
would  be  successful.  By  the  last  gunboat  of  the  depart- 
hig  fleet  he  sent  his  wife  a  letter,  full  of  gay  anticipations, 
and  expressions  of  afiection,  which  she  was  destined  never 
to  ansAver.  By  the  last  transport  which  came  to  Grande 
Ecore  arrived  a  letter  from  Ravenel,  which,  owmg  to  the 
hastiness  of  the  march,  did  not  reach  him  until  the  evening 
before  the  battle  of  Cane  River.  In  the  glare  of  a  camp- 
fire  he  read  of  the  destruction  Avhich  he  had  wrought  in 
the  peace  of  his  own  family.  Ravenel  spoke  briefly  and 
without  reproaches  of  the  discovery;  stated  that- he  be- 
lieved it  to  be  his  duty  to  remove  his  child  from  the  scene 
of  such  a  domestic  calamity  ;  that  he  should  therefore  take 
her  to  the  north  as  soon  as  she  was  able  to  travel. 

"  I  beg  that  you  will  not  force  yourself  upon  her,"  he 
concluded.  "  Hitherto  she  has  not  mentioned  your  name 
to  me,  and  I  do  not  know  what  may  be  her  feelings  with 
regard  to  you.  Some  time  she  may  jDardon  you,  if  it  is 
your  desire  to  be  pardoned.  I  cannot  say.  At  present  I 
know  of  nothing  better  than  to  take  her  away,  and  to  ask 
your  forbearance,  m  the  name  of  her  sickness  and  sufiering." 

This  letter  was  a  cruel  blow  to  Carter.  If  the  staif 
oflicers  who  sat  Tvdth  him  around  the  camp-fire  could  have 
known  how  deeply  and  for  what  a  purely  domestic  reason 
the  seemingly  stern  and  hard  General  was  sufiering,  they 
would  have  been  very  much  amazed.  He  was  poj^ularly 
supposed  to  be  a  man  of  the  world,  Avith  bad  morals  and 
a  calloused  heart,  which  could  neither  feel  much  anguish 
of  its  own  nor  sympathise  keenly  Avith  the  anguish  of  other 
hearts.  But  the  General  was  indeed  so  wretched  that  he 
could  not  talk  with  them,  and  could  not  even  sit  among 


Fkom     Secession    to    Loyalty.  44T 

them  in  silence.  He  went  on  one  side  and  walked  for  an 
hour  up  and  down  in  the  darkness.  He  tried  to  clear  up 
the  whole  thing  in  his  mmd,  and  decide  distinctly  what 
was  the  worst  that  had  happened,  and  what  was  the  best 
that  could  be  done  But  his  perceptions  were  very 
tumultuous  and  mcoherent,  as  is  usually  the  case  with  a 
man  when  first  overtaken  by  a  great  calamity.  It  was  a 
horrible  affair ;  it  was  a  cursed,  infernal  affair ;  and  that 
was  about  all  that  he  could  say  to  himself  He  was  m- 
tolerably  ashamed,  as  well  as  grieved  and  angry.  He 
thought' very  little  about  Mrs.  Larue,  good  or  bad  ;  he  was 
not  mean  enough  to  curse  her,  although  she  had  been  more 
to  blame  than  he ;  only  he  did  wish  that  he  never  had 
seen  her,  and  did  curse  the  day  which  brought  them  to- 
gether on  the  Creole.  The  main  thing,  after  all,  was  that 
he  had  ill-treated  his  wife,  and  it  did  not  matter  who  had 
been  his  accomplice  in  the  wicked  business.  He  set  his 
teeth  into  his  lips,  and  felt  his  eyes  grow  moist,  as  ho 
thought  of  her,  sick  and  suffering  because  she  loved  him, 
and  he  had  not  been  worthy  of  her  love.  Would  she  ever 
forgive  him,  and  take  him  back  to  her  heart  ?  He  did  not 
know.  He  would  try  to  win  her  back;  he  would  fight 
desperately,  and  distinguish  himself;  he  would  ofier  her 
the  best  unpulses  and  bravest  deeds  of  manhood.  Perhaps 
if  he  should  earn  a  Major-General's  star  and  high  fiime  m 
the  nation,  and  then  should  go  to  her  feet,  she  would  re- 
ceive him.  A  transitory  thrill  of  pleasure  shot  through 
him  as  he  thought  of  reconciliation  and  renewed  love. 

At  last  the  General  was  recalled  to  the  fire  to  read  or- 
ders which  concerned  the  movements  of  the  morrow,  and 
to  transmit  them  to  the  regiments  of  his  own  command. 
Then  he  had  to  receive  two  old  friends,  regular  officers  of 
the  artillery,  who  called  to  congratulate  him  on  his  promo- 
tion. AVhiskey  was  produced  for  the  visitors,  and  Carter 
himself  drank  freely  to  drown  trouble.  When  they  went 
away,  about  midnight,  he  found  himself  wearied  out,  and 


448         Miss     Raven  el's     Coxveksion 

very  soon  dropped  asleep,  for  he  was  a  soldier  and  could 
slumber  under  all  circumstances. 

At  Grande  Ecore  the  Red  River  throws  off"  a  bayou 
wliich  rejoins  it  below,  the  two  currents  enclosing  an  island 
some  forty  miles  in  length.  This  bayou,  now  called  the 
Cane  River,  was  once  the  origmal  stream,  and  in  memory 
of  its  ancient  grandeur  flows  between  high  banks  alto- 
gether out  of  projDortion  to  its  modest  current.  Over  the 
dead  level  of  the  island  the  army  had  moved  without  be- 
ing opposed,  or  harassed,  for  the  rebels  had  reserved 
their  strength  to  crush  it  when  it  should  be  entangled  in 
the  crossing  of  the  Cane  River.  Taylor  with  his  xVrkansas 
and  Louisiana  infantry  had  followed  the  march  closely 
but  warily,  always  within  striking  distance  but  avoiding 
actual  conflict,  and  now  lay  m  line  of  battle  only  a  few 
miles  in  rear  of  Andrew  Jackson  Smith's  western  boys. 
Polignac  with  his  wild  Texan  cavalry  had  made  a  great 
circuit,  and  already  held  the  bluffs  on  the  southern  side  of 
the  Cane  River  confronting  Emory's  two  divisions  of  the 
Nineteenth  Corps.  The  mam  plan  of  the  battle  was  simple 
and  inevitable.  Andrew  Jackson  Smith  must  beat  off"  the 
attack  of  Taylor,  and  Emory  must  abolish  the  obstacle-  of 
Polignac. 

The  veteran  and  wary  commander  of  the  Xmeteenth 
Corps  had  already  decided  how  he  would  go  over  his 
ground,  should  he  find  it  occupied  by  the  enemy.  He  had 
before  him  a  wood  of  considerable  extent,  then  an  oj^en 
plam  eight  hundred  yards  across,  and  then  a  valley  in  the 
nature  of  a  ravine,  at  the  bottom  of  which  flowed  a  river, 
not  fordable  here,  and  with  no  crossing  but  a  ferry.  A 
single  narrow  road  led  down  through  a  deep  cut  to  the 
edge  of  the  raj^id,  muddy  stream,  and,  startmg  again  from 
the  other  edge,  rose  through  a  similar  gorge  until  it  disap- 
peared from  sight  behind  the  brows  of  high  bluffs  crowned 
with  pines.  Under  the  pines  and  along  the  rim  of  the 
bluffs  lay  the  line  of  Polignac.  There  had  been  no  time 
to   reconnoitre  his  dispositions;   indeed,  his  presence  in 


Fkom    Secession    to    Loyalty.         449 

strong  force  ^vas  not  yet  positively  known  to  the  leaders 
of  tlie  Union  army ;  but  if  there,  his  horses  had  no  doubt 
been  sent  to  the  rear,  and  his  men  formed  to  fight  as  in- 
fantry. And  if  this  were  so,  if  an  army  of  several  thou- 
sand Texan  riflemen  occupied  this  strong  position,  how 
should  it  be  carried  ?  Emory  had  already  decided  that  it 
would  never  do  to  butt  at  it  in  front,  and  that  it  could  only 
be  taken  by  a  turnmg  movement.  Thus  this  part  of  the 
battle  had  a  plan  of  its  own. 

Such  was  the  military  situation  upon  Avhich  our  new 
Brigadier  opened  his  heavy  eyes  at  half-past  three  o'clock 
on  the  morning  after  gettmg  that  woeful  letter  about  his 
wife.  The  army  was  to  commence  its  march  at  half-past 
four,  and  Carter  was  aroused  by  the  bustle  of  preparation 
from  the  vast  bivouac.  Thousands  of  men  were  engaged 
in  rolling  their  blankets,  putting  on  their  equipments,  wip- 
ing the  dew  from  their  rifles,  and  eatmg  their  hasty  and 
unsavory  breakfasts  of  hard-tack.  Companies  were  falling 
in ;  the  voices  of  the  first-sergeants  were  heard  callmg  the 
rolls  ;  long-drawn  orders  resounded,  indicating  the  forma- 
tion of  regimental  lines-;  the  whinnies  of  horses,  the  bray- 
ing of  mules,  and  the  barkmg  of  dogs  joined  in  the  clamor ; 
but  as  yet  there  was  no  tramplmg  of  the  march,  no  rolling 
of  the  wheels  of  artillery.  Xothiug  could  be  seen  of  this 
populous  commotion  except  here  and  there  where  a  for- 
bidden cooking-fire  cast  its  red  flicker  over  little  knots 
of  crouching  soldiers  engaged  m  preparing  coffee. 

In  the  moment  of  coming  to  his  senses,  and  before  mem- 
ory had  fully  resumed  its  action,  the  General  was  vaguely 
conscious  that  something  horrible  was  about  to  happen,  or 
had  already  happened.  But  an  old  soldier  is  not  long  in 
wakmg  up,  especially  when  he  has  gone  to  sleep  in  the 
expectation  of  a  battle,  and  Carter  knew  almost  instanta- 
neously what  was  the  nature  of  the  burden  that  weighed 
upon  his  soul.  He  lay  full  dressed  at  the  foot  of  a  tree, 
with  no  shelter  but  its  branches.  He  was  quite  still  fi)r  a 
minute   or  more,   staring   at  the  dark  sky  with  steady, 


450         Miss     R  a  vex  el's     Coxversiox 

gloomy  eyes.  His  first  act  was  to  put  bis  hand  to  the 
breast  jDOcket  of  his  blouse  and  draw  out  that  cruel  letter, 
as  if  to  read  it  anew  by  the  flicker  of  a  fire  which  reached 
his  resting  place.  But  there  was  no  need  of  that :  he  knew 
all  that  was  in  it  as  soon  as  he  looked  at  the  envelope ;  he 
remembered  at  once  even  the  blots  and  the  position  of  the 
signature.  Xext  the  sight  of  it  angered  him,  and  he 
thrust  it  back  crumpled  mto  his  pocket.  There  was  no 
need,  he  felt,  of  making  so  much  of  the  aflair ;  such  aftairs 
were  altogether  too  common  to  be  made  so  much  of;  he 
could  not  and  would  not  see  any  sense  in  the  Doctor's 
conduct.  He  sprang  to  his  feet  in  his  newly-found  in- 
dignation, and  glared  fiercely  around  the  bivouac  of  his 
brigade. 

"  How's  this  ?"  he  growled.  "  I  ordered  that  not  a  fire 
should  be  lighted.  Mr.  Yan  Zandt,  did  you  pass  the  or- 
der to  every  regiment  last  evening  ?" 

"  I  did,  sir,"  answers  our  old  acquaintance,  now  a  staflT 
oflicer,  thanks  to  his  Dutch  courage,  and  his  ability  mth 
the  pen. 

"Ride  ofl* again.  Stop  those  tires  instantly.  My  God  ! 
the  fools  want  to  tell  the  enemy  just  when  we  start." 

This  outburst  raised  his  spirits,  and  after  swallowing  a 
cocktail  he  sat  down  to  breakfast  with  some  appetite.  The 
toughness  of  the  cold  boiled  chicken,  and  the  dryness  and 
hardness  of  the  army  biscuit  srerved  as  a  further  distrac- 
tion, and  enabled  him  to  utter  a  joke  about  such  delicacies 
being  very  suitable  for  projectiles.  But  he  was  still  ner- 
vous, uneasy,  eager,  driven  by  the  sin  which  was  past,  and 
dragged  by  the  battle  which  was  before,  so  that  any  long 
reveling  at  the  banquet  was  impossible.  He  quitted  the 
empty  cracker  box  which  served  him  for  a  table,  and  paced 
grimly  up  and  down  until  his  orderly  came  to  buckle  on 
his  sword,  and  his  servant  brought  him  his  horse. 

"  How  are  the  saddle-pockets,  Cato  T''  he  asked. 

"  Oh,  day's  chuck  full,  Gen'l  Hull  cold  chicken  in  dis 
yere  one,  an'  bottle  o'  whisky  hi  dis  yere." 


From     Secession     to     Loyalty.        451 

Carter  swung  himself  slowly  and  heavily  mto  his  saddle. 
He  was  weary,  languid  and  feverish  with  want  of  sleep, 
and  trouble  of  mind.  In  truth  he  was  physically  and 
morally  a  much  discomforted  Brigadier  General.  Without 
waiting  for  other  directions  than  his  example,  his  five  staff 
officers  mounted  also  and  fell  mto  a  group  behind  him.  In 
their  rear  was  the  brigade  flag-bearer  escorted  by  half-a- 
dozen  cavalry-men.  The  sombre  dawn  was  turning  to  red 
and  gold  in  the  east.  A  monstrous  serpent  of  blue  and 
steel  was  already  creeping  toward  the  ferry,  mcreashig  m 
lensjth  as  additional  reoiments  streamed  into  the  road  from 
the  fields  which  had  served  for  the  bivouac.  When  Carter 
had  seen  his  entire  brigade  file  by,  he  set  off  at  a  canter, 
placed  himself  at  the  head  of  it,  and  rode  on  at  a  walk, 
silent  and  gloomy  of  countenance.  ISTot  even  the  thought 
that  he  was  now  a  general,  and  had  a  chance  to  make  a 
reputation  for  himself  as  well  as  for  others,  could  enable 
him  to  quite  throw  off  the  seriousness  and  anxiety  which 
beclouds  the  minds  of  men  during  the  prelimmaries  of  bat- 
tle. The  remembrance  of  the  misery  which  he  had  wrought 
for  his  w^ife  was  no  pleasant  distraction.  It  was  like  a 
foreboding  ;  it  overshadowed  him  even  when  he  was  not 
thinking  of  it  distinctly  ;  it  seemed  to  have  a  menacing  arm 
which  pointed  him  to  punishment,  calamity,  perhaps  a 
grave.  He  was  like  a  haunted  man  Vvho  sees  his  followmg 
phantom  if  he  turns  his  head  ever  so  little.  N"evertheless, 
when  he  squarely  faced  the  subject,  and  dragged  it  out 
separately  from  the  general  sombreness  of  the  situation,  it 
did  not  seem  such  a  very  hopeless  misfortune.  It  surely 
was  not  possible  that  she  had  broken  with  him  for  life.  He 
would  wm  her  back  to  him  ;  it  must  be  that  she  loved  him 
enough  to  forgive  him  some  day ;  he  would  Avin  her  back 
^T.th  repentance  and  victories.  As  he  thought  this  he 
dashed  a  little  way  into  the  fields,  gave  a-  glance  at  the 
line  of  his  brigade,  and  dispatched  a  couple  of  his  staff  to 
close  up  the  rearmost  files  of  his  regiments. 

Presently  there  was  a  halt :  something  probably  going 


452  Miss    Ravenel's     Coxyersion 

on  in  front :  perhaps  a  reconnoisance  :  perhaps  battle.  Tlie 
men  Avere  allowed  to  stack  arms  and  sit  down  by  the  road- 
side. Then  came  news  :  Enemy  in  force  at  the  crossing:  a 
direct  attack  in  front  out  of  the  question :  turning  move- 
ments to  be  made  somewhere  by  somebody.  It  was  a  full 
hour  after  sunrise  when  an  aid  of  General  Emory's  arrived 
with  orders  for  General  Carter  to  report  for  duty  to  Gen- 
eral Birge. 

"  What  is  the  situation  ?"  asked  the  General. 

"  Two  brigades  are  formmg  in  front,"  replied  the  aid. 
"  We  have  an  immense  line  of  skirmishers  stretching  from 
the  Cane  River  on  the  right  all  along  the  edge  of  the 
woods,  and  out  into  the  fields.  But  we  can't  go  at  them 
in  front.  Their  o-round  is  nearlv  a  hundred  feet  his/her 
than  ours,  and  the  crossmg  isn't  fordable.  We  have  got 
to  flank  them.  Closson  is  going  up  Avith  some  artillery  to 
establish  a  position  on  our  left,  and  from  that  the  cavalry 
will  turn  the  right  wing  of  the  enemy.  Birge  is  to  do  the 
same  thins^  on  this  side  with  three  brio-ades.  He  will  o-q 
up  about  a  mile — three  miles  from  the  ferry — ford  the 
river — it's  fordable  up  there — come  round  on  the  fellows, 
and  give  it  to  them  over  the  left." 

"  Very  good,"  said  Carter.  "  If  I  shouldn't  come  back, 
give  the  General  my  compliments  for  his  j^lau.  Much 
obliged.  Lieutenant." 

At  this  moment  the  flat,  dull  rej^ort  of  a  rifled  iron  gun 
came  from  the  Avoods  far  aAvay  in  front,  followed  a  few 
seconds  afterward  by  another  report,  still  flatter  in  sound 
and  much  more  distant,  the  bursting  of  a  shell. 

"  There  goes  Closson,"  laughed  the  young  oflicer.  "  Two 
tAventy-pound  Parrotts  and  four  three-inch  rifles  !  He'll 
Avake  'em  up  when  he  gets  fairly  a-talking.  Good  luck  to 
you.  General." 

And  away  he  rode  gaily,  at  a  gallop,  in  the  direction  of 
the  ferry. 

While  Birge's  column  countermarched,  and  Carter's 
brigade  filed  into  the  rear  of  it,  the  cannonade  became 


From     Secession    to     Loyaltt.         453 

lively  ill  the  front,  tlie  crashes  of  the  gmis  alternating  rap- 
idly with  the  crashes  of  the  shells,  as  Closson  went  in  with 
all  his  six  pieces,  and  a  Rebel  battery  of  seven  responded. 
After  half  an  hour  of  this  the  enemy  found  that  a  range  of 
two  thousand  yards  was  too  long  for  them,  and  became 
silent.  Then  Closson  ceased  firing  also,  and  waited  to 
hear  from  Birge.  And  now  for  five  or  six  hours  there  was 
no  more  sound  of  fighting  along  this  line,  except  an  occa- 
sional shot  from  the  skirmishers  aimed  at  pufis  of  rifle  smoke 
which  showed  rarely  against  the  phies  of  the  distant  blufls. 
The  infantry  column  struggled  over  its  long  detour  by  the 
rio-ht ;  the  cavalry  tried  in  vam  to  force  a  way  through  the 
jungles  on  the  left ;  the  centre  listened  to  the  roar  of  A.  J. 
Smith's  battle  in  the  rear,  and  lunched  and  waited.  At 
two  o'clock  Emory  put  everything  in  order  to  advance 
whenever  Birge's  musketry  should  give  notice  that  he  was 
closely  engaged.  Closson  was  to  move  forward  on  the 
left,  and  fire'^as  fast  as  he  could  load.  The  remamder  of 
the  artillery  was  to  gallop  down  the  river  road  to  the 
ferry,  and  open  ^ith  a  dozen  or  fifteen  pieces.  The  two 
supporting  brigades  were  to  push  through  the  woods  as 
rapidly  as  possible  and  cover  the  artillery.  The  skir- 
mishers were  to  cross  the  river  wherever  they  could  ford 
it,  and  keep  up  a  heavy  fire  in  order  to  occupy  the  atten- 
tion of  the  enemy.  Closson  started  at  once,  forced  five  of 
his  three-mch  rifles  through  the  wood,  went  into  battle  at 
a  range  of  a  thousand  yards,  and  in  ten  minutes  dislodged 
the  Rebel  guns  from  their  position.  But  all  this  was 
mere  feinting  ;  the  heavy  fighting  must  be  done  by  Birge. 
The  flankmg  column  had  a  hard  road  to  travel.  After 
fordmg  the  Cane  Paver  it  entered  a  country  of  thickets, 
swamps  and  gullies  so  difiicult  of  passage  that  five  hours 
were  spent  in  marching  barely  five  miles.  Two  regiments 
were  deployed  m  advance  as  skirmishers ;  the  others  fol- 
lowed in  columns  of  division  doubled  on  the  centre.  At 
one  time  the  whole  force  went  mto  luie  of  battle  on  a  false 
alarm  of  the  near  presence  of  the  eneilv-y.     Then  the  nature 


454         Miss     Ravexel's     Conversion 

of  the  ground  forced  it  to  move  for  nearly  a  mile  in  the 
ordinary  column  of  march.  It  floundered  through  swampy 
und'ergrowths  ;  it  forded  a  deep  and  muddy  bayou.  About 
two  o'clock  in  the  afternoon  it  came  out  upon  a  clearing 
in  full  view  of  a  bluff",  forty  or  fifty  feet  in  height,  flanked 
on  one  side  by  the  river,  and  on  the  other  by  a  marshy 
jungle  connecting  with  a  lake.  Along  the  brow  of  this 
bluft'  lay  Polignac's  left  Aving,  an  unknown  force  of  Texan 
riflemen,  all  good  shots,  and  impetuous  fighters,  elated 
moreover  with  pursuit  and  the  expectation  of  victory. 
Here  Carter  received  an  order  to  charge  yriih  his  brigade. 

"  Very  good,"  he  answered,  in  a  loud,  satisfied,  confi- 
dent tone,  at  the  same  time  throAving  away  his  segar. 
"  Let  me  look  at  things  first.  I  want  to  see  where  to  go 
in." 

A  single  glance  told  him  that  the  river  side  was  unas- 
sailable. He  galloped  to  the  right,  inspected  the  boggy 
jungle,  glared  at  the  lake  beyond,  and  decided  that  noth- 
mg  could  be  done  in  that  quarter.  Returnmg  to  the  bri- 
gade he  once  more  surveyed  the  ground  in  its  front.  It 
would  be  necessary  to  take  down  a  high  fence,  cross  an 
open  field,  take  down  a  second  fence,  and  advance  \\])  the 
hill  under  a  close  fire  of  musketry.  But  he  was  not  dis- 
pirited by  the  prospect ;  he  was  no  longer  the  silent, 
sombre  man  of  the  morning.  The  w^hizzing  of  the  Texan 
bullets,  the  sight  of  the  butternut  uniforms,  and  ugly 
broadbrims  which  faced  him,  had  cleared  his  deep  breast 
of  oppression,  and  called  the  fighting  fire  into  his  eyes. 
He  swore  loudly  and  gaily ;  he  would  flog  those  dirty 
rapscallions ;  he  w^ould  knock  them  high  and  dry  into  the 
other  world  ;  he  would  teach  them  not  to  get  in  his  way. 

"  Go  to  the  regunental  commanders,"  he  shouted  to 
his  staff"  officers.  "  Tell  them  to  push  straight  at  the  hill. 
Tell  them,  Guide  right." 

On  w^ent  the  regiments,  four  in  number,  keej^mg  even 
pace  with  each  other.  There  was  a  halt  at  the  first  fence 
while  the  men  struggled  with  the  obstacle,  climbing  it  in 


From  Secession    to    Loyalty.  455 

some  places,  and  pushmg  it  over  in  others.  The  General's 
brow  darkened  mth  anxiety  lest  the  temporary  confusion 
should  end  in  a  retreat ;  and  spurring  close  np  to  the  line 
he  rode  hither  and  thither,  cheering  the  soldiers  onward. 

"  Forward,  my  fine  lads,"  he  said.  "  Down  with  it. 
Jump  it.  Xow  then.  Get  into  your  ranks.  Get  along, 
my  lads." 

On  went  the  regiments,  moving  at  the  ordmary  quick- 
step, arms  at  a  right-shoulder-shift,  ranks  closed,  gaps 
filled,  iinfaltermg,  heroic.  The  dead  were  fallmg;  the 
wounded  were  crawlmg  in  numbers  to  the  rear ;  the  leis- 
urely hum  of  long-range  bullets  had  changed  into  the  sharp, 
multitudinous  ivhit-ivhit  of  close  firuig  ;  the  stifled  crash 
of  balls  hittmg  bones,  and  the  soft  chuck  of  flesh-wounds 
mingled  with  the  outcries  of  the  suflferers ;  the  blufi*  in 
front  was  smoking,  rattling,  wailing  with  the  incessant 
file-fire ;  hut  the  front  of  -the  brigade  remained  unbroken, 
and  its  rear  showed  no  stragglers.  The  right  hand  reo-i- 
ment  floundered  m  a  swamp,  but  the  other  hurried  on 
without  waiting  for  it.  As  the  momentum  of  the  move- 
ment increased,  as  the  spirits  of  the  men  rose  with  the 
charge,  a  stern  shout  broke  forth,  something  between  a 
hurrah  and  a  yell,  swelling  up  against  the  rebel  musketry, 
and  defymg  it.  Gradually  the  pace  mcreased  to  a  double- 
quick,  and  the  whole  mass  ran  for  an  eighth  of  a  mile 
through  the  whistling  bullets.  The  second  fence  disap- 
peared like  frost-work,  and  up  the  slope  of  the  hill  strug- 
gled the  pantmg  regiments.  When  the  foremost  ranks 
had  nearly  reached  the  summit,  a  sudden  silence  stifled 
the  musketrv.  Polio-nac's  line  Aravered,  ceased  firino- 
broke  and  went  to  the  rear  in  confusion.  The  clamor  of 
the  charging  yell  redoubled  for  a  moment,  and  then  died 
in  the  rear  of  a  tremendous  volley.  Xow  the  Union  line 
was  firing,  and  now  the  rebels  were  falling.  Such  was 
the  charge  which  carried  the  crossing,  and  gained  the  bat- 
tle of  Cane  River. 


4oG  Miss     11  a  vex  el's     Conveesion" 

But  Brigadier-General  Johu  Carter  had  already  fallen 
gloriouifly  in  the  arms  of  victory. 

At  the  moment  that  the  fatal  shot  struck  him  he  had 
forgotten  his  guilt  and  remorse  in  the  wild  joy  of  success- 
ful battle.  He  was  on  horseback,  closely  following  his 
advancing  brigade,  and  watching  its  spirited  push,  and 
listening  to  its  mad  yell,  with  such  a  smile  of  soldierly  de- 
light and  pride  that  it  was  a  pleasure  to  look  upon  his 
bronzed,  confident,  heroic  face.  It  would  have  been 
strange  to  a  civilian  to  hear  the  stream  of  joyful  curses 
with  which  he  expressed  his  admiration  and  elation. 

"  God  damn  them !  see  them  go  in  !"  he  said.  "  God 
damn  their  souls !     I  can  put  them  anywhere  !" 

He  had  just  uttered  these  words  when  a  Minie-ball 
struck  him  in  the  left  side,  just  below  the  ribs,  with  a  thud 
which  was  audible  ten  feet  from  him  hi  spite  of  the  noise 
of  the  battle.  He  started  violently  in  the  saddle,  and 
then  bent  slowly  forward,  laying  his  right  hand  on  the 
horse's  mane.  He  was  observed  to  carry  his  left  hand 
twice  toward  the  wound  without  touching  it,  as  if  desirous, 
yet  fearful,  of  ascertaining  the  extent  of  the  injury.  The 
blow  was  mortal,  and  he  must  have  known  it,  yet  he  re- 
tamed  his  ruddy  bronze  color  for  a  minute  or  two.  With 
the  assistance  of  two  staff  officers  he  dismounted  and 
walked  eight  or  ten  yards  to  the  shade  of  a  tree,  uttering 
not  a  groan,  and  only  showing  his  agony  by  the  manner 
m  which  he  bent  forward,  and  the  spasmodic  clutch  with 
Avhich  he  held  to  those  supporting  shoulders.  .  But  when 
he  had  been  laid  down,  it  was  visible  enough  that  there 
was  not  half  an  hour  s  life  in  him.  His  breath  was  short, 
his  forehead  was  thickly  beaded  with  a  cold  pers2)iration, 
and  his  face  was  of  an  ashy  pallor  stamed  with  streaks  of 
ghastly  yellow. 

"  Tell  Colonel  Gilliman,"  he  said,  mentionmg  the  senior 
colonel  of  the  brigade,  and  then  paused  to  catch  his  breath 
before  he  resumed,  "  tell  him  to  keep  straight  forward." 

These  were  the  first  words  that  he  had  spoken  smce  he 


Fkom     Secession    to     Loyalty.       457 

was  hit.  His  voice  had  ah-eady  sunk  from  a  clear,  son- 
orous bass  to  a  hoarse  whisper.  Presently,  as  the  smoking 
and  roaring  surge  of  battle  rolled  farther  to  the  front  a  chap- 
lain and  a  surgeon  came  up,  followed  by  several  ambulance 
men  bearinor  stretchers.  The  chaj^lain  was  attached  to 
Carter's  old  regiment,  and  had  served  under  him  since  its 
formation.  The  surgeon,  a  Creole  by  birth,  a  Frenchman 
by  education,  philosophical  and  roue,  belonged  to  a  Louis- 
iana loyal  regiment,  and  had  known  the  General  in  other 
days,  when  he  was  a  dissipated,  spendthrift  lieutenant  of 
the  regular  army,  stationed  at  Baton  Rouge.  He  gave 
him  a  large  cup  of  whiskey,  uncovered  the  wound,  i3robed 
it  ^T-th  his  finger,  and  said  nothmg,  looked  nothmg. 

"  Why  don't  you  do  something  ?"  Avhispered  the  chap- 
lain eagerly,  and  almost  weeping. 

"  I  have  done  all  that  is — essential,"  he  replied,  with  a 
slight  shrug  of  the  shoulders. 

"  How  do  you  feel.  General  ?"  asked  the  chaplain,  turn- 
ing to  his  dying  commander. 

"  Gomg,"  was  the  whispered  answer. 

"  Going  ! — Oh,  going  where  ?"  implored  the  other,  sink- 
ing on  his  knees.  "  General,  have  you  thought  of  the  sac- 
rifice of  Jesus  Christ  ?" 

For  a  moment  Carter's  deep  voice  returned  to  him,  as, 
fixing  his  stern  eyes  on  the  chaplain,  he  answered,  "  Don't 
bother  ! — where  is  the  brigade  ?" 

Perhaps  he  thought  it  unworthy  of  him  to  seek  God  in 
his  extremity,  when  he  had  neglected  Him  in  all  his  hours 
of  health.  Perhaps  he  felt  that  he  owed  his  last  thoughts 
to  his  country  and  his  professional  duties.  Perhaps  he  did 
not  mean  all  that  he  said. 

It  was  strange  to  note  the  power  of  military  discipline 
upon  the  chaplain.  Even  m  this  awful  hour,  when  it  was 
his  pa»t  to  fear  no  man,  he  evidently  quailed  before  his 
superior  officer.  Under  the  pressure  of  a  three  years' 
habit  of  obedience  and  respect,  cowed  by  rank  and  that 
audacious  will  accustomed  to  domination,  he  shrank  back 
U 


458         Miss    Ra vex  el's    Conversion 

into  silence,  covering  his  face  with  his  hands,  and  no  doubt 
praying,  but  uttering  no  further  word. 

"  General,  the  brigade  has  carried  the  position,"  said  one 
of  the  stafi-officers. 

Carter  smiled,  tried  to  raise  his  head,  dropped  it  slowly, 
drew  a  dozen  labored  breaths,  and  was  dead. 

"  J/  «  maintena  jusq'  ati  bout  son  'personnage^''  said  the 
surgeon,  letting  fall  the  extinct  pulse.  "  Sa  mort  est  tout 
ce  qiC  il  y  a  de  plus  logiqueP 

So  he  thought,  and  very  naturally.  He  had  only  known 
him  in  his  evil  hours  ;  he  judged  him  as  all  superficial  ac- 
quaintances would  have  judged ;  he  was  not  aware  of  the 
tenderness  Avhich  existed  at  the  bottom  of  that  passionate 
nature.  With  another  education  Carter  might  have  been 
a  James  Brainard  or  a  St.  Vincent  de  Paul.  With 
the  training  that  he  had,  it  was  perfectly  logical  that  in 
his  last  moments  he  should  not  want  to  be  bothered  about 
Jesus  Christ. 

The  body  was  borne  on  a  stretcher  in  rear  of  the 
victorious  columns  until  they  halted  for  the  night,  when  it 
was  buried  m  the  private  cemetery  of  a  planter,  in  pres- 
ence of  Carter's  former  regiment.  Among  the  spectators 
was  Colburne,  stricken  with  real  grief  as  he  thought  of  the 
bereaved  wife.  Throughout  the  army  the  regret  was 
general  and  earnest  over  the  loss  of  this  brave  and  able 
officer,  apparently  just  entering  ujDon  a  career  of  long-de- 
served promotion.  In  a  letter  to  Ravenel,  Colburne  re- 
lated the  particulars  of  Carter's  death,  and  closed  with  a 
fervent  eulogium  on  his  character  as  a  man  and  his  services 
as  a  soldier,  forgetting  that  he  had  sometimes  drunk  too 
deeply,  and  that  there  were  suspicions  against  him  of  other 
vices.  It  is  thus  that  young  and  generous  spuits  are  apt 
to  remember  the  dead,  and  it  is  thus  always  that  a  soldier 
laments  for  a  worthy  commander  who  has  fallen  on  the 
field  of  honor. 


Fkom    Secession     to    Loyalty.        459 


CHAPTER   XXXIII. 

LILLIE    DEVOTES     HERSELF    ENTIRELY    TO    THE     RISING 
GENERATION. 

LiLLiE  wished  to  return,  at  least  for  a  while,  to  her  old 
quarters  in  the  New  Boston  House.  A  desire  to  go  back 
by  association  to  some  part  of  her  life  which  had  been 
happy  may  have  influenced  her  in  this  choice  ;  and  she  was 
so  quietly  earnest  in  it  that  her  father  yielded,  although 
he  feared  that  the  recollections  connected  with  the  place 
would  increase  her  melancholy.  They  had  been  there 
only  three  days  when  he  read  mth  a  shock  the  newspaper 
report  of  the  battle  of  Cane  River,  and  the  death  of  "  the 
lamented  General  Carter."  He  did  not  dare  mention  it 
to  her,  and  sought  to  keep  the  journals  out  of  her  reach. 
This  was  easy  enough,  for  she  never  went  out  alone, 
rarely  spoke  to  any  one  but  her  father,  and  devoted  her 
time  mostly  to  her  child  and  her  sewing.  But  about  a 
week  after  their  arrival,  as  the  Doctor  came  in  to  dinner 
from  a  morning's  reading  in  the  college  library,  he  found 
her  weeping  quietly  over  a  letter  -^hich  lay  open  in  her 
lap.     She  handed  it  to  him,  merely  saying,  "  Oh,  papa  !" 

He  glanced  through  it  hastily ;  it  was  Colburne's  ac- 
count of  Carter's  death. 

"  I  knew  this,  my  dear,"  he  said.  "  But  I  did  not  dare 
to  tell  you.  I  hope  you  are  able  to  bear  it.  There  is  a 
great  deal  to  bear  in  this  world.     But  it  is  for  our  good." 

"  Oh,  I  don't  know,"  she  replied  with  a  weary  air.  .  She 
was  thinking,  not  of  his  general  consolations,  but  of  his 
hope  that  she  could  endvire  her  trial ;  for  a  trial  it  was, 
this  sudden  death  of  her  husband,  though  she  had  thought 
of  him  of  late  only  as  separated  from  her  forever.  After 
a  short  silence  she  sobbed,   "I  am  so  sorrj^  I  quarreled 


460         Miss     Raven  el's     Conversion 

with  him.  I  wish  I  had  written  to  him  that  I  was  not 
angry." 

She  went  on  crying,  but  not  jjassionately,  nor  with  a 
show  of  unendurable  sorrow.  From  that  time,  as  he 
watched  the  patient  tranquillity  of  her  grief,  the  Doctor 
conceived  a  firm  hope  that  she  would  not  be  permanently 
crushed  by  her  afflictions.  She  kept  the  letter  in  her  own 
writmg  desk,  and  read  it  many  times  when  alone ;  some- 
times laying  it  down  with  a  start  to  take  np  the  uncon- 
scious giggling  comforter  in  the  cradle  ;  sometimes  tellmg 
him  what  it  all  meant,  and  what  her  tears  meant,  saying, 
"  Poor  baby  !     Baby's  papa  is  dead." 

Only  once  did  an  expression  savoring  of  anger  at  any 
one  force  its  way  through  her  lips. 

"  I  don't  see  why  I  should  have  been  made  miserable 
because  others  are  wicked,"  she  said. 

"  It  is  one  of  the  necessary  consequences  of  living,"  an- 
swered the  Doctor.  "  Other  people's  sins  are  sometimes 
brought  to  our  doors,  just  as  other  people's  infants  are 
sometimes  left  there  in  baskets.  God  has  ordained  that 
we  shall  help  bear  the  burdens  of  our  fellow  creatures, 
even  down  to  the  consequences  of  their  crimes.  It  is  one 
way  of  teaching  us  not  to  sin.  I  have  had  my  small  share 
of  this  unpleasant  labor.  I  lost  my  home  and  my  income 
because  a  few  men  wanted  to  found  a  slave-driving  olig- 
archy on  the  ruins  of  their  country." 

"  We  have  had  nothing  but  trials,"  sighed  Lillie. 

"  Oh  yes,"  said  the  Doctor.  "  Life  in  the  average  is  a 
mass  of  happiness,  only  dotted  here  and  there  by  trials. 
Our  pleasures  are  so  many  that  they  grow  monotonous 
and  are  overlooked." 

I  must  now  include  the  history  of  eight  months  in  a  few 
pages.  The  Doctor,  ignorant  of  the  steamboat  transaction, 
allowed  his  daughter  to  draw  the  money  which  she  had 
left  behind  on  deposit,  considering  that  Carter's  child  un- 
questionably had  a  right  to  it.  Through  the  good  offices 
of  that  amiable  sinner,  Mrs.  Larue  (of  which  he  was  equally 


FPwOii    Secession    to    Loyalty.         461 

unaware),  he  was  enabled  to  let  Lis  house  in  Xew  Orleans 
as  a  Government  office.  Thus  provided  with  ready  money 
and  a  small  quarterly  payment,  he  resumed  his  literary 
and  scientific  labors,  translating  from  a  French  Encyclo- 
pedia for  a  New  York  publisher,  and  occasionally  securing 
a  job  of  mineralogical  discovery.  The  familiar  life  of 
former  days,  when  father  and  daughter  were  all  and  all  to 
each  other,  slowly  revived,  saddened  by  recollections,  but 
made  joyful  also  by  the  new  affection  which  they  shared. 
As  out  of  the  brazen  vase  of  the  Arabian  Xights  arose  the 
malignant  Jinn  whose  head  touched  the  clouds,  and  whose 
voice  made  the  earth  tremble,  so  out  of  the  cradle  of  Rav- 
vie  arose  an  influence,  perhaps  a  veritable  angel,  whose 
crown  w^as  in  the  heavens,  and  whose  power  brought  down 
consolation.  There  was  no  cause  of  inner  estrangement ; 
nothing  on  which  father  and  child  could  not  feel  alike. 
Ravenel  had  found  some  difficulty  in  liking  his  daughter's 
husband,  but  he  had  none  at  all  in  loving  his  daughter's 
baby.  So,  agreeing  on  all  subjects  of  much  importance  to 
either,  and  disposed  by  affection  and  old  habit  to  take  a 
strong  interest  in  each  other's  affairs,  they  easily  returned 
to  their  former  ways  of  much  domestic  small-talk,  Hapj)ily 
for  Lillie  she  was  not  taciturn,  but  a  prattler,  and  by  na- 
ture a  light-hearted  one.  Xow  prattlers,  like  workers  of 
all  kinds,  physical  and  moral,  unconsciously  dodge  by  their 
activity  a  great  many  shafts  of  suflering  which  hit  their 
quieter  brothers  and  sisters.  A  widow  who  orders  her 
mourning,  and  waits  for  it  with  folded  hand  and  closed 
lips,  is  likely  to  be  more  melancholy  than  a  widow  who 
must  trim  her  gowns,  and  make  up  her  caps  with  her  own 
fingers,  and  who  is  thereby  impelled  to  talk  of  them  to 
her  mother,  sisters,  and  other  born  sympathisers.  It  was 
a  symptom  of  returning  health  of  mind  when  Lillie  could 
linger  before  the  glass,  arrange  her  hair  with  the  old  taste, 
put  on  a  new  cap  daintily  and  say,  "  Papa,  how  does  that 
look  ?" 

"Yery  well,  my  dear,"  answers  papa,  scratching  away 


462  Miss    Rayexel's     Conveesiox 

at  his  translation.  Then,  remembering  what  his  cliild  had 
suffered,  and  transferring  his  thoughts  to  the  subject  which 
she  proffers  for  consideration,  he  adds,  "  It  seems  to  me 
that  it  is  unnecessarily  stiff  and  j^archment  like.  It  looks 
as  if  it  was  made  of  stearine." 

"  ^Vhy,  that's  the  material,"  says  Lillie.  "  Of  course  it 
looks  stiff;  it  ought  to." 

"  But  why  not  have  some  other  material  ?"  queries  the 
Doctor,  w^ho  is  as  dull  as  men  usually  are  in  matters  of 
the  female  toilet.  "  Why  not  use  white  silk,  or  some- 
thing ?" 

"  Silk,  papa !"  exclaims  Lillie,  and  laughs  heartily. 
"  Who  ever  heard  of  using  silk  for  mourning  ?" 

Woe  to  women  when  they  give  up  making  their  own 
dresses  and  take  to  female  tailors  !  Five  will  then  die  of 
broken  hearts,  of  ennui,  of  emptiness  of  life,  where  one  dies 
now. 

But  her  great  diverter  and  comforter  was  still  her  child. 
Like  most  women  she  was  born  for  maternity  more  dis- 
tinctly and  positively  even  than  for  love.  She  had  not 
given  up  her  dolls  until  she  was  fourteen ;  and  then  she 
had  put  them  reverentially  and  tenderly  away  in  a  trunk 
where  she  could  occasionally  go  and  look  at  them ;  and 
less  than  seven  years  later  she  had  a  living  doll,  her  own, 
her  soul's  doll,  to  care  for  and  worship.  It  was  charming 
to  see  this  slender,  Diana-like  form,  overloaded  and  leaning, 
but  still  bearing,  with  an  affection  which  was  careless  of 
fatigue,  the  disj^roportionate  weight  of  that  healthy,  succu- 
lent, ponderous  Bavvie.  His  pink  foce,  and  short  flaxen 
hair  bobbed  about  her  shoulders,  and  his  chubby  hands 
played  with  her  nose,  lips,  hair,  and  white  collars.  When 
he  went  out  on  an  airing  she  almost  always  went  with 
him,  and  sometimes  took  the  sole  charge  of  his  wicker 
wagon,  proud  to  drag  it  because  of  its  illustrious  burden. 
Ravvie  had  a  promenade  in  the  morning  mth  mamma  and 
nurse,  and  another  late  in  the  afternoon  with  mamma  and 
grandpapa.     Lillie  meant  to  make  him  healthy  by  keep- 


From     Secession     to     Loyalty.         4C3 

ing  him  constantly  in  the  open  air,  and  burning  him  brown 
in  the  sunshine,  after  the  sensible  fashion  of  southern  nur- 
series, and  in  consonance  mth  the  teaching  of  her  father. 
The  old  Irish  nurse,  a  veteran  and  enthusiast  in  her  pro- 
fession, had  more  than  one  contest  mth  this  provokingly 
devoted  mother.  Xot  thai  Rosann  objected  to  the  child 
being  out ;  she  would  have  been  glad  to  have  him  in  the 
wicker  wagon  from  breakfast  to  dinner,  and  from  dinner 
to  sundown;  but  she  wanted  to  be  the  sole  guide  and 
companion  of  his  wanderings.  When,  therefore  she  was 
ordered  to  stay  at  home  and  do  the  small  washing  and 
ironing,  while  the  mistress  went  oft'  with  the  baby,  she  set 
up  an  indignant  ullaloo,  and  threatened  departure  without 
warning.  Sometimes  Lillie  was  satirical  and  said,  "  Ro- 
sann, since  you  can't  nurse  the  baby,  I  hope  you  will  al- 
low me  to  do  so." 

To  which  Rosann,  with  Irish  readiness,  and  \vith  an 
apologetic  titter,  would  reply,  "  An'  smce  God  allows  ye 
to  do  it,  ma'am,  I  don't  see  as  I  can  make  an  objection." 

"  I  would  turn  her  away  if  she  wasn't  so  fond  of  Rav- 
vie,"  affirmed  Lillie  m  a  pet.  "  She  is  the  most  selfish 
creature  that  I  ever  saw.  She  wants  him  the  whole  time. 
I  declare,  papa,  I  only  keep  her  out  of  pity.  I  believe  it 
would  break  her  heart  to  deprive  her  of  the  child." 

"  It's  a  very  odd  sort  of  selfishness,"  observed  the  Doc- 
tor. "  Most  people  would  call  it  devotion,  self-abnegation, 
or  something  of  that  sort." 

"  But  he  isn't  her  child,"  answered  Lillie,  half  vexed, 
half  smiling.  '^  She  thinks  he  is.  I  actually  believe  she 
thinks  that  she  had  him.     But  she  didn't.     I  did." 

She  tossed  her  head  with  a  pretty  air  of  defiance,  which 
was  as  much  as  to  say  that  she  was  not  ashamed  of  the 
feat. 

Long  before  Master  Ravvie  could  say  a  word  in .  any 
language,  she  had  commenced  the  practice  of  talking  to 
him  only  in  French.  He  should  be  a  Imguist  from  his 
cradle  ;  and  she  herself  would  be  his  teacher.     When  he 


464         Miss     Raven  el's     Con  version 

got  old  enoiioh,  her  father  should  instruct  him  in  the 
sciences,  and,  if  he  chose  to  be  a  doctor,  in  the  theory  and 
j^ractice  of  medicine.  They  would  never  send  him  to 
school,  nor  to  college :  thus  they  would  save  money,  have 
him  always  by  them  and  keep  him  from  evil.  Concerning 
this  project  she  had  long  arguments  with  her  father,  who 
thought  a  boy  should  be  with  boys,  learn  to  rough  it  away 
from  home,  study  human  nature  as  well  as  languages  and 
sciences,  and  grow  up  with  a  circle  of  emulators  and  life 
comrades. 

"  You  will  give  up  this  little  plan  of  yours,"  he  said, 
"  when  he  gets  old  enough  to  make  it  necessary.  When 
he  is  fifteen  he  won't  wear  the  shell  that  fits  him  now,  and 
meantime  we  must  let  another  one  grow  on  his  back 
against  he  needs  it."  ^ 

But  Lillie  could  not  yet  see  that  her  child  ought  even 
to  be  separated  from  her.  She  was  constantly  arranging, 
and  re-arranging  her  imaginary  future  in  such  ways  as 
seemed  best  fitted  to  make  him  a  permanent  feature  of  it. 
In  every  cloud-castle  that  she  built  he  occuj^ied  a  central 
throne,  with  her  father  sitting  on  the  right  hand  and  she 
on  the  left.  Of  course,  however,  she  was  chiefly  occupied 
^ith  his  present,  desiring  to  make  it  as  delightful  to  him 
as  possible. 

"  I  wonder  if  Ravvie  would  like  the  sea-shore,"  she  said, 
on  one  of  the  first  warm  days  of  summer. 

"  Why  so  ?"  asks  j^apa. 

"  Oh,  it  would  be  so  pleasant  to  spend  a  week  or  so  on 
the  sea-shore.  I  think  I  could  get  a  little  fatter  and 
stronger  if  I  might  have  the  sea-breeze  and  sea-bathing.  I 
am  tired  of  being  so  thin.  Besides,  it  would  be  such  fun 
to  take  Ravvie  down  to  the  beach  and  see  him  stare  at  the 
waves  rolling  in.  How  round  his  eyes  would  be !  Do 
you  remember  how  he  used  to  turn  his  head  up  when  he 
was  a  month  old,  and  stare  at  the  sky  with  his  eyes  set 
like  a  doll-baby's.  I  wish  I  knew  what  he  used  to  think 
of  it." 


From    Secession    to     Loyalty.        465 

"  I  presume  lie  ttioiiglit  just  about  as  mucli  as  the  holly- 
hocks do  when  they  turn  then-  faces  toward  the  sun,"  says 
*the  Doctor. 

"  For  shame,  papa  !  Do  you  compare  him  to  a  vege- 
table?'^ 

"  Xot  now.  But  in  those  days  he  was  only  a  grade 
above  one.  There  wasn't  much  in  him  but  possibilities. 
Well ;  he  may  have  perceived  that  the  sky  was  very  fine ; 
but  then  the  hollyhocks  perceive  as  much." 

"  What !  don't  you  suppose  he  had  a  soul  ?" 

"  Oh  yes.  He  had  a  tongue  too,  but  he  hadn't  learned 
to  talk  TNTLth  it.  I  doubt  whether  his  soul  was  of  much  use 
to  him  in  that  stage  of  his  existence." 

"  Papa,  it  seems  to  me  that  you  talk  like  an  infidel.  'Now 
if  Ravvie  had  died  when  he  was  a  month  old,  I  should 
have  expected  to  meet  him  in  Heaven — that  is,  if  I  am 
ever  fit  to  go  there." 

"  I  have  no  doubt  you  would — no'  doubt  of  it,"  affirmed 
the  Doctor  with  animation.  "  I  never  intended  to  dispute 
the  little  man's  immortality." 

"  Then  why  did  you  call  him  a  hollyhock  ?" 

"  My  dear,  I  take  it  all  back.  He  isn't  a  hollyhock  and 
never  was." 

"  If  we  can  hire  a  house  I  want  it  in  the  suburbs,"  said 
Lillie,  after  a  meditation.  "  I  want  it  outside  the  city  so 
that  Ravvie  can  have  plenty  of  air.  His  room  must  be  on 
the  sunny  side,  papa — hear  ?" 

"  Yes,"  answered  j^apa,  who  had  also  had  his  revery, 
probably  concerning  Smithites  and  Brownites. 

"  You  don't  hear  at  all,"  said  Lillie.  "  You  don't  pay 
any  attention." 

"  Well,  my  child,  there  is  plenty  of  time.  We  sha'n't 
have  a  house  for  the  next  five  mmutes." 

"  I  know  it.  Not  for  five  years  perhaps.  But  I  want 
you  to  pay  attention  when  I  am  talking  about  Ravvie." 

Meantime  the  two  were  very  popular  m  New  Boston. 
As  southern  refugees,  as  martyrs  m  the  cause  of  loyalty, 


466         Miss    Ravenel's     Conversion 

as  an  organizer  of  free  black  labor,  as  the  widow  of  a 
distinguished  Union  officer,  both  and  each  were  person- 
ages whom  tlie  fervent  Federalists  of  the  little  city  de- 
lighted to  honor.  As  soon  as  they  would  receive  calls  or 
accept  of  new  acquaintances  they  had  all  that  they  wanted. 
Professor  "\7hitewood  had  been  killed  at  Chaucellorsville, 
although  bodily  more  than  three  hundred  miles  from 
the  field  of  battle  ;  and  his  son  was  now  worth  eighty 
thousand  dollars,  besides  seven  hundred  dollars  yearly 
from  a  tutorship,  and  the  prospect  of  succeeduig  to  his 
father's  position.  This  well-to-do,  virtuous,  amiable,  and 
intelligent  young  gentleman  was  more  than  suspected  of 
bemg  in  love  with  the  penniless  widow.  His  sister  made 
the  affair  a  subject  of  much  meditation,  and  even  of  prayer, 
being  anxious  above  all  things  on  earth,  that  her  brother 
should  be  happy.  Whitewood  was  more  than  once  ob- 
served to  drop  his  Hmdustani,  sidle  out  upon  the  green 
and  beg  the  privilege  of  drawing  Ravvie's  baby-wagon ; 
and  what  was  particularly  suspicious  about  the  matter 
was,  that  he  never  attempted  to  jom  Rosann  in  this  man- 
ner, but  only  Mrs.  Carter.  Lillie  colored  at  the  signifi- 
cance of  the  shyly-preferred  request,  and  would  not  con- 
sent to  it,  but  nevertheless  was  not  angry.  Her  bookish 
admirer's  interest  in  her  mcreased  when  he  found  that  she 
aided  her  father  in  his  translations  ;  for  from  his  childhood 
he  had  been  taught  to  like  people  very  much  in  propor- 
tion to  their  intellectuality  and  education.  Of  evenings 
he  was  frequently  to  be  seen  in  the  little  parlor  of  the 
Ravenels  on  the  fourth  floor  of  the  Xew  Boston  House. 
Lillie  would  have  been  glad  to  have  him  bring  his  sister, 
so  that  they  four  could  make  up  a  game  of  whist ;  but  since 
the  dawm  of  history  no  Whitewoods  had  ever  handled  a 
pack  of  cards,  and  the  capacity  of  learning  to  do  so  was 
not  in  them.  Moreover  they  still  retained  some  of  the  old 
!N"ew  England  scruples  of  conscience  on  the  subject. 
Whitewood  talked  quite  as  much  with  the  Doctor  as  with 
Lillie ;  quite  as  much  about  minerals  and  chemistry  as 


From     Secession     to     Loyalty.         467 

about  subjects  with  which  she  was  familiar;  but  it  was 
easy  to  see  that,  if  he  had  known  how,  he  would  have 
made  his  conversation  altogether  femmine.  At  precisely 
ten  o'clock  he  rose  with  a  start  and  sidled  to  the  door ; 
stuck  there  a  few  moments  to  add  a  postcript  concerning 
science  or  classic  literature ;  then  with  another  start  opened 
the  door,  and  said,  "  Good  evening  "  after  he  was  in  the 
passage. 

"  How  awkward  he  is  !"  Lillie  would  sometimes  observe. 

"  Yes — physically,"  was  the  Doctor's  answer.  "  But 
not  morally.  I  don't  see  that  he  tramples  on  any  one's 
feelmgs,  or  breaks  any  one's  heart." 

The  visitor  gone,  father  and  daughter  walked  in  the 
hall  while  Rosann  opened  the  windows  for  ventilation. 
After  that  the  baby's  cradle  was  dragged  into  the  parlor 
with  much  ceremony,  the  whole  family  either  directing  or 
assistmg ;  a  mattress  and  blankets  were  produced  from  a 
closet  and  made  up  on  the  floor  mto  a  bed  for  the  nurse ; 
grandpapa  kissed  both  his  children  and  went  to  his  own 
room  next  door ;  and  Lillie  proceeded  to  undress,  talking 
to  Rosann  about  Ravvie. 

"  An'  do  ye  know,  ma'am,  what  the  little  crater  did  to 
me  to-day  ?"  says  the  doting  Lishwoman.  "  He  jist  pulled 
me  spectacles  ofi"  me  nose  an'  stuck  'em  in  his  own  little 
mouth.  He  thought,  mebbe,  he  could  see  with  his  mouth. 
An'  thin  he  lucked  me  full  in  the  face  as  cunnia  as  could 
be,  an'  give  the  biggest  jump  that  iver  was.  I  tell  ye, 
ma'am,  babies  is  smarter  now  than  they  used  to  be." 

This  remarkable  anecdote,  with  the  nurse's  commentary, 
being  repeated  to  the  Doctor  ui  the  mornuig,  he  philoso- 
phised as  follows. 

"  There  may  be  something  in  Rosann's  statement.  It 
is  not  impossible  that  the  babies  of  a  civilized  age  are  more 
exquisitely  sensitive  beings  than  the  babies  of  antique 
barbarism.  It  may  be  that  at  my  birth  I  was  a  little  ahead 
of  my  Gallic  ancestor  at  his  birth.  Perhaps  I  was  able  to 
compare  two  sensations  as  early  in  life  as  he  was  able  to 


468        Miss    Ravexel's     Conversion 

perceive  a  single  sensation.  It  might  be  something  like 
this.  He  at  the  age  of  ten  days  would  be  capable  of 
thinking,  '  Milk  is  good.'  I  at  the  same  age  could  perhaps 
go  so  far  as  to  think,  'Milk  is  better  than  Daily's  Mixture.' 
Babies  now-a-days  have  need  of  bemg  cleverer  than  they 
used  to  be.  Tliey  have  more  dangers  to  evade,  more 
medicines  to  spit  out." 

"  I  know  what  you  mean,"  said  Lillie.  "  You  always 
did  rebel  against  Dally.  But  what  was  I  to  do  ?  He 
u'ould  have  the  colic." 

"  I  know  it !  He  would  !  But  Dally  couldn't  help  it. 
Don't,  for  pity's  sake,  vitiate  and  torment  your  poor  little 
angel's  stomach,  so  new  to  the  atrocities  of  this  world, 
with  drugs.  These  mixers  of  baby  medicines  ought  to  be 
fed  on  nothing  but  their  own  nostrums.  That  would  soon 
put  a  stop  to  their  inventions  of  the  adversary." 

"  Oh  dear,"  sighed  Lillie.  "  I  don't  know  what  to  do 
with  him  sometimes.  I  am  so  afraid  of  not  doing  enough, 
or  doing  too  much  !" 

Then  the  argumentemad  liominem  occurred  to  her:  that 
argumentem  which  proves  nothing,  and  which  women  love 
so  well. 

"  But  you  have  given  him  things,  papa.  Don't  you  re- 
member the  red  fluid  ?" 

"  I  never  gave  it  to  him,"  asserted  the  Doctor. 

"  But  you  gave  it  to  me  to  give  to  him — when  you  threw 
the  Dally  out  of  the  window." 

"  And  do  you  know  what  the  red  fluid  was  ?" 

"  ISTo.  It  did  him  good.  It  was  just  as  powerful  as  the 
Dally.     Consequently  it  must  have  been  a  drug." 

"It  was  pure  water,  slightly  colored.  That  was  all, 
upon  my  honor — as  we  say  down  south.  It  used  to  amuse 
me  to  see  you  drop  it  according  to  prescription — five  drops 
for  a  dose — very  particular  not  to  give  him  six.  He 
might  have  drunk  the  vial  full." 

"Papa,"  said  Lillie  when  she  had  fully  realized  this 


Fkom    Secession    to    Loyalty. 


469 


awful  deception,  "  you  have  a  great  many  sins  to  repent 

of-"  .  '^  .^ 

"Poisoning  my  own   granclcliilcl  is  not  one  ol  them, 

thank  Heaven !" 

"But  suppose  Ravvie  had  become  really  sick?"  she 
su2:gested  more  seriously. 

"Ah !  what  a  clear  con  science  1  should  have  had !  ^  o- 
body  could  have  laid  it  to  me." 

"How  healthy,  and  strong,  and  big  lie  is?"  was  her 
next  observation.  "He  will  be  like  you.  I  would  bet 
anything  that  he  will  be  six  feet  high." 

kavenel  laughed  at  a  bet  which  would  have  to  wait 
some  sixteen  or  eighteen  years  for  a  decision,  and  said  it 
reminded  him  of  a  South  Carolinian  who  offered  to  wager 
that  in  the  year  two  thousand  slavery  would  prevail  the 
world  over. 

"This  whole  subject  of  mfancy's  perceptions,  and  opin- 
ions is  curious,"  he  observed  presently.  "What  a  world 
it  would  be,  if  it  were  exactly  as  these  little  people  see  it ! 
Yes,  and  what  a  world  it  would  be,  if  it  were  as  we  grown 
people  see  it  in  our  different  moods  of  depression,  exhilara- 
tion, vanity,  spite,  and  folly  !  I  suppose  that  only  Deity 
sees  it  truly." 

In  this  kind  of  life  the  spring  grew  into  summer,  the  sum- 
mer sobered  into  autumn,  and  the  autumn  began  to  grow 
hoary  with  wmter.  Eight  months  of  paternal  affection  re- 
ceived, and  maternal  cares  bestowed  had  decided  that 
Lillie  should  neither  die  of  her  troubles  nor  suffer  a  life- 
long blighting  of  the  soul.  In  bloom  she  was  what  she 
used  to  be  ;  in  expression  alone  had  she  suffered  a  change. 
Sometimes  sudden  flashes  of  profoundly  felt  pain  troubled 
her  eyes,  as  she  thought  of  ber  venture  of  love  and  its 
great  shipwreck.  She  had  not  the  slightest  feeling  of 
ano-er  toward  her  husband ;  she  could  not  be  angry  with 
the  buried  father  of  her  child.  But  she  felt,  and  some- 
times reproached  herself  for  it,  that  his  crime  had  made 
her  grieve  less  over  his  death,  just  as  his  death  had  led  her 


470         Miss     R  a  ten  el's     Cox  version 

to  pardon  his  crime.  She  often  prayed  for  him,  not  that 
she  believed  m  Purgatory  and  its  deliverance,  but  rather 
because  the  act  soothed  painful  yearnings  which  she  could 
not  dispel  by  reason  alone.  Her  devotional  tendencies 
had  been  much  increased  by.  her  troubles.  In  fact,  she 
was  far  more  religious  than  some  of  the  straiter  New 
Bostonians  were  able  to  1)elieve  when  they  knew  that  she 
played  whist,  and  noted  hoAV  tastefully  she  was  dressed, 
and  how  charmingly  graceful  she  was  in  social  intercourse. 
She  never  went  to  sleep  without  reading  a  chapter  m  the 
Bible,  and  jn'aying  for  her  child,  her  father,  and  herself. 
It  is  possible  that  she  may  have  forgotten  the  heathen,  the 
Jews,  and  the  negroes.  Well,  she  had  not  been  educated 
to  think  much  of  far  away  people,  but  rather  to  interest 
herself  in  such  as  were  near  to  her,  and  could  be  made 
daily  happy  or  unhappy  by  her  conduct.  She  almost  of- 
fended Mrs.  White  wood  by  admittmg  that  she  loved  Rav- 
vie  a  thousand  times  more  than  the  ten  tribes,  or,  as  Mrs. 
W.  called  them,  the  Avandering  sheep  of  the  house  of 
Israel.  Nor  could  this  excellent  lady  enlist  her  interest 
in  favor  of  the  doctrme  of  election,  owing  perhaps  to  the 
adverse  remarks  of  Doctor  Ravenel. 

"  My  dear  madame,"  he  said,  "  let  us  try  to  be  good, 
repent  of  our  short  -  comings,  trust  in  the  atonement, 
and  leave  such  niceties  to  those  whose  business  it  is  to 
discuss  them.  Doctrines  are  no  more  religion  than  geolo- 
gical bird-tracks  are  animated  nature.  Doctrines  are  the 
footpmits  of  piety.  You  can  learn  by  them  where  devout- 
minded  men  have  trod  in  their  searchings  after  the  truth. 
But  they  are  not  m  themselves  religion,  and  will  not  save 
souls." 

"  But  think  of  the  great  and  good  men  who  have  made 
these  doctrines  the  stiidy  and  guide  of  their  lives,"  said 
Mrs.  Whitewood.     "  Tliink  of  our  Puritan  forefathers." 

"  I  do,"  answered  the  Doctor.  "  I  thmk  highly  of  them. 
They  have  my  profoundest  respect.  We  are  still  moving 
under  the  impetus  which  they  gave  to  humanity.     Dead 


From     Secession     to    Loyalty.        4V1 

as  they  are,  they  govern  this  continent.     At  the  s^ame  time 
they  mnst   have   been  disagreeable  to  hve  Ts^th.     Then- 
doctrines  made  them  hard  in  thought  and  manner.     When 
I  thmk  of  their  o-rimness,  imcharity,  mclemency    1  am 
tempted  to  sav  that  the  smners  of  those  days  were  the  salt 
of  the  earth."  Of  course,  Mrs.  Whitewood,  it  is  only  a 
temotation.     I  don't  succumb  to  it.     But  now,  as  to  these 
doctrmes,  as  to  merely  dogmatic  religion,  it  remmds  me 
of  a  story.     This  story  goes  (I  don't  believe  it),  that  an 
mo-enious  man,  havmg  found  that  a  bandage  drajrn  tight 
around  the  waist  will  abate  the  pangs  of  hunger,  set  up  a 
boardmg-house   on   the  idea.     At  breakfast   the  waiters 
strapped  up  each  boarder  with  a  stout  surcmgle.     At  dm- 
ner  the  waistbelts  were  drawn  up  another  hole-or  two, 
if  you  were  hungrv.     At  tea  there  was  another  pull  on  the 
buckle      The  story  proceeds  that  one  dyspeptic  old  bache- 
lor found  himself  much  better  by  the  evening  of  the  second 
day,  but  that  the  other  guests  rebelled  and  left  the  house 
in  a  body,  denouncmg  the  gentlemanly  proprietor  as  a 
humbuo-.     Xow  some  of  our  ethical  purveyors  remmd  me 
of  this  hiventor.     They  put  nothmg  mto  you  ;  they  give 
you  no  sustaining  food.     They  simply  bind  your  soul,  and 
now  and  then  take  up  a  hole  m  your  moral  waistbelt. 

It  is  pretty  certam  that  Lillie  even  felt  more  mterest  m 
Captam  Colburne  than  m  the  vanished  Hebrews  It  will 
be  remembered  that  she  has  never  ceased  to  like  him  smce 
she  met  him,  more  than  three  years  ago,  m  this  same^ew 
Boston  House,  which  is  now  m  some  famt  degree  fragrant 
to  her  with  his  memory.  Here  commenced  that  loyal 
affection  AvHch  has  followed  her  through  her  love  lor  an- 
other, her  marriage,  and  her  maternity,  and  which  has 
risked  life  to  save  her  from  captivity.  She  would  be  un- 
o-rateful  if  she  did  not  prefer  him  hi  her  heart  to  every 
other  human  being  except  her  father  and  RavTie.  ^^ext 
to  her  mtercourse  mth  this  same  parent  and  c^ild,  Ool- 
burne's  letters  were  her  chief  social  pleasures.  They  were 
iuT  ariably  directed  to  the  Doctor  ;  but  if  she  got  at  them 


472        Miss    Raven  el's     Coxveksion 

first,  she  had  no  hesitation  about  oj^ening  them.  It  was 
her  business  and  j^leasure  also  to  file  them  for  preservation. 

"  If  he  never  returns,"  she  said,  "  I  will  write  his  life. 
But  how  horrible  to  hear  of  him  killed  !"     • 

"  In  five  months  more  his  three  years  will  be  up,"  ob- 
served the  Doctor.  "  I  hope  that  he  will  be  protected 
through  the  perils  that  remain." 

"  I  hope  so,"  echoed  Lillie.  "  I  wonder  if  the  war  will 
last  long  enough  to  need  Ravvie.  He  shall  never  go  to 
West  P(Hnt." 

"  He  is  pretty  certam  not  to  go  for  the  next  fourteen 
years,"  said  Ravenel,  smiling  at  this  long  look  ahead. 

Lillie  sighed ;  she  was  thinkmg  of  her  husband  ;  it  was 
West  Point  wliich  had  rumed  his  noble  character ;  noth- 
ing else  could  account  for  such  a  downfall ;  and  her  child 
should  not  go  there. 

In  July  (1864)  they  heard  that  the  Xineteenth  Corps 
had  been  transferred  to  Virginia,  and  during  the  autumn 
Colburne's  letters  described  Sheridan's  brilliant  victories 
in  the  Shenandoah  Valley.  The  Captain  was  present  in 
the  three  pitched  battles,  and  got  an  honorable  mention 
for  gallantry,  but  no  promotion.  Indeqd  advancement 
w^as  impossible  without  a  transfer,  for,  although  his  regi- 
ment had  only  two  field-officers,  it  was  now  too  much  re- 
duced in  numbers  to  be  entitled  to  a  colonel.  More  than 
two-thirds  of  the  rank  and  file,  and  more  than  two-thirds 
of  the  oflicers  had  fallen  in  those  three  savage  struggles. 
Xevertheless  the  young  man's  letters  were  imflag^'inoj  m 
their  tone  of  elation,  bragging  of  the  braver}^  of  his  regi- 
ment, describing  bayonet  charges  through  whistlmg  storms 
of  hostile  musketry,  telling  of  captured  flags  and  cannon 
by  the  half  hundred,  afiectionate  over  his  veteran  corps 
commander,  and  enthusiastic  over  his  youthful  general  in 
chief 

"  Really,  that  is  a  most  brilliant  letter,"  observed  Rav- 
enel, after  listening  to  Colburne's  account  of  the  victory 
of  Cedar  Creek.     "  That  is  the  most  splendid  battle-piece 


From    Secession    to    Loyalty.         473 

that  ever  ^vas  produced  by  any  author,  ancient  or  modern," 
he  went  on  to  say  m  his  enthusiastic  and  somewhat  hyper- 
bolical style.  "  Neither  Tacitus  nor  Xapier  can  equal  it. 
Alison  is  all  fudge  and  claptrap,  with  his  granite  squares 
of  mfantry  and  his  billows  of  calvalry.  One  can  under- 
stand Colburne.  I  know  just  how  that  battle  of  Cedar 
Creek  was  fought,  and  I  almost  think  that  I  could  fight 
such  an  one  myself  There  is  cause  and  effect,  and  their 
relations  to  each  other,  in  his  narrative.  When  he  comes 
home  I  shall  insist  upon  his  writmg  a  history  of  this  war." 
"  I  wish  he  would,"  said  Lillie,  vrith.  a  flash  of  interest 
for  which  she  blushed  presently. 


CHAPTER  XXXIV. 

lillie's  attextiox  is  recalled  to  the  eisixg  gexer- 

ATIOX. 

Ox  or  about  the  first  of  January,  1865,  Lillie  chanced  to 
go  out  on  a  shopping  excursion,  and  descended  the  stair- 
way of  the  hotel  just  in  time  to  catch  sight  of  a  newly 
arrived  guest,  who  was  about  entering  his  room  on  the 
first  story.  One  servant  directed  the  unsteady  step  and 
supported  the  wavering  form  of  the  stranger,  while  an- 
other carried  a  painted  wooden  box  eighteen  or  twenty 
mches  square,  which  seemed  to  be  his  sole  baggage.  As 
Lillie  was  in  the  broad  light  and  the  invalid  was  walking 
from  her  down  a  dark  passage,  she  could  not  see  how  thin 
and  yellow  his  face  was,  nor  how  weather-stained,  thread- 
bare, and  even  ragged  was  his  fatigue  uniform.  But  she 
could  distmguish  the  dark  blue  cloth,  and  gilt  buttons 
which  her  eye  never  encountered  now  without  a  sj^arkle 
of  interest. 

She  had  reached  the  street  before  the  question  occurred 
to  her.  Could  it  be  Captain  Colburne  ?  She  reasoned  that 
it  could  not  be,  for  he  had  written  to  them  only  a  fortnight 


474         Miss     Rave  x  el's     Cox  version 

ago  without  mentioning  either  sickness  or  wounds,  and 
the  time  of  his  reguuent  would  not  be  up  for  ten  days  yet. 
Xevertlieless  she  made  her  shopping  tour  a  short  one  for 
thinking  of  that  sick  officer,  and  on  returning  to  the  hotel 
she  looked  at  the  arrival-book,  regardless  of  the  half-dozen 
students  who  lounged  against  the  office  counter.  There, 
written  in  the  clerk's  hand,  was  "  Capt.  Colburne,  No.  18." 
As  she  went  up  stairs  she  could  not  resist  the  temptation 
of  passing  Xo.  18,  and  was  nearly  overcome  by  a  sudden 
impulse  to  knock  at  the  door.  She  wanted  to  see  her  best 
friend,  and  to  know  if  he  were  really  sick,  and  how  sick, 
and  whether  she  could  do  anything  for  him.  She  deter- 
mmed  to  send  a  servant  to  make  instant  inquiries ;  but  on 
reaching  her  room  she  found  her  father  playing  with 
Ravvie. 

"  Papa,  Captam  Colburne  is  here,"  were  her  first  words. 

"  Is  it  possible  !"  exclaimed  the  Doctor,  leaping  up  ^dth 
delight.     "  Have  you  seen  him  ?" 

"  Xot  to  speak  with  him.  I  am  afraid  he  is  sick.  He 
was  leanmg  on  the  porter's  arm.  He  is  in  number  eigh- 
teen.    Do  go  and  ask  how  he  is." 

"  I  will.  You  are  certain  that  it  is  our  Captain  Col- 
burne ?" 

"  It  must  be,"  answered  Lillie  as  he  went  out ;  and  then 
thought  with  a  blush,  "  Will  papa  laugh  at  me  if  I  am 
mistaken  ?" 

When  Ravenel  rapped  at  the  door  of  Xo.  18,  a  deep  but 
rather  hoarse  voice  answered,  "  Come  in." 

"  ^[y  dear  friend  !"  exclaimed  the  Doctor,  rushing  into 
the  room ;  but  the  moment  that  he  saw  the  Captam  he 
stopped  in  surprise  and  dismay. 

"  Don't  get  up,"  he  said.  "  Don't  stir.  Bless  me  !  how 
long  have  you  been  in  this  way  ?" 

"  Only  a  little  while — a  month  or  two,"  answered  Col- 
burne T^dth  his  customary  cheerful  smile.  "  Soon  be  all 
right  again.     Sit  down." 

He  was  stretched  at  full  length  on  his  bed,  evidently 


Feom  Secession  to  Loyalty. 


475 


quite  feeble,  his  eyes  underscored  wiA  lines  ot  blueish  yel- 
low, his  face  sallow  and  features  sharpened^  The  eyes 
heiselves  were  heavy  and  dull  w«h  the  effee  s  of  the 
opium  which  he  had  taken  to  enable  him  to  undergo  the 
dav-s  iourner.     Besides  his  long  brown  mustache,  which 
had  become  Vasged  with  want  of  care,  he  had  on  a  beaixl 
of  three  weekS'   growth ;   and  his  face  and  hands  were 
•stained  with  the  dust  and  smirch  of  two  days'  contmuous 
railroad  travel,  ^'hich  he  had  not  yet  had  time  to  w^.sh 
^„.av-iu  fact,  as  soon  as  he  had  reached  his  room  he  had 
thrown  himself  on  the  bed  and  fallen  asleep.     His  only 
clothuK.  was  a  summer  blouse  of  dark  blue  flannel,  a  com- 
mon soldier's  shirt  of  knit  woolen.  Government  troiisers 
of  coarse  light-blue  cloth  without  a  welt,  and  brown  Gov- 
ernment stockings  worn  through  at  toe  and  heel.     On  the 
floor  lay  his  shoes,  rough  kip-skin  brogans,  likewise  of  Gov- 
ernment issue.    All  of  his  clothing  was  meradically  stamecl 
.vith  the  famous  mud  of  Virginia ;  his  b  ouse  was  thiead- 
bare  where  the  sword-belt  went,  and  had  a  ragged  bullet- 
hole  through  the   collar.     Altogether  he  presented  the 
spectacle  of  a  m.an  pretty  thoroughly  worn  out  m  field 


service. 


"Is  that  all  you^-ear  hi  this  season ?'    demanded    or 
rather  exclaimed  the  Doctor.     "  You  will  kill  yourself. 

Colburne's  answering  laugh  was  so  feeble  that  its  cheer- 
fulness sounded  like  mockery.  it  T  „m 

"  There  isn't  a  chance  of  killing  me,"  he  said.  I  am 
not  cold.  On  the  contrary,  I  am  suff-ermg  with  the  heat 
of  these  fires  and  close  rooms.  It's  rather  odd  consider- 
in.  how  run  down  I  am.  But  actually  I  have  been  quar- 
refin-  all  the  wav  home  to  keep  my  wmdow  m  the  car 
openTl  was  so  stifled  for  want  of  air.  Three  jears  spent 
out  of  doors  makes  a  house  seem  like  a  Black  Hole  of  Cal- 

'""But  no  vest!"  urged  the  Doctor.     "It^s  enough  to 

o-uarantee  yon  an  mflammation  of  the  lungs." 

"  "  I  hav'n't  seen  my  vest  nor  any  part  of  my  full  uniform 


476         Miss    R  a  vex  el's     Cox  version 

for  six  months,"  said  Colburne,  much  amused.  "You 
don't  know  till  you  try  it  how '  hardy  a  soldier  can  be, 
even  when  lie  is  sick.  3Iy  only  bed-clothing  until  about 
the  first  of  Xovember  was  a  rubber  blanket.  I  will  tell 
you.  When  we  left  Louisiana  in  July  we  thought  we 
were  going  to  besiege  Mobile,  and  consequently  I  only 
took  my  flannel  suit  and  rubber  blanket.  It  was  enough 
for  a  southern  summer  campaign.  Henry  had  all  he  could 
do  to  tote  his  own  aftairs,  and  my  rations  and  frymg-pan. 
You  ought  to  have  seen  the  disgust  "with  which  he  looked 
at  his  bundle.  He  began  to  think  that  he  would  rather 
be  respectable,  and  industrious,  and  learn  to  read,  than 
carry  such  a  load  as  that.  His  only  consolation  was  that 
he  would  soon  steal  a  horse.  Well,  I  hav'n't  seen  my  trunk 
since  I  left  it  on  store  in  Xew  Orleans,  and  I  don't  know 
where  it  is,  though  I  suppose,  it  may  be  in  Washington 
■with,  the  rest  of  the  baggage  of  our  division.  I  tell  you 
this  has  been  a  glorious  campaign,  this  one  in  the  Shenan- 
doah ;  but  it  has  been  a  teaser  for  privations,  marching, 
and  guard-duty,  as  well  as  fighting.  It  is  the  first  time 
that  I  ever  knocked  under  to  hardships.  Half-starved  by 
day,  and  half-frozen  by  night.  I  don't  think  that  even 
this  would  have  laid  me  out,  however,  if  I  hadn't  been 
poisoned  by  the  Louisiana  swamps.  Malarious  fever  is 
what  bothers  me." 

"  You  will  have  to  be  very  careful  of  yourself,"  said  the 
Doctor.  He  noticed  a  febrile  agitation  in  the  look  and 
even  m  the  conversation  of  the  wasted  young  hero  which 
alarmed  him. 

"  Oh  no,"  smiled  Colburne.  "  I  will  be  all  right  in  a 
week  or  two.  All  I  want  is  rest.  I  will  be  about  in  less 
than  a  week.  I  can  travel  now.  You  don't  realize  how  a 
soldier  can  pick  himself  up  from  an  ordinary  illness.  Isn't 
it  curious  how  the  poor  fellows  will  be  around  on  their 
pins,  and  in  their  clothes  till  they  die  ?  I  think  I  am 
rather  efteminate  in  taking  off  my  shoes.  I  only  did  it 
out  of  compliment  to  the  white  coverlet.     Doesn't  it  look 


FROaS.OE.S.OJ     lO     LOVALPT.  «' 

«  Well.     After  I  get  nd  ot^tnem. 
zen's  suit  as  soon  as  possible." 

i^  T  am  home  to  be  mustered  out  of  seiyice. 

form  for  me.     I  am  home  to  "  ^     j        o„e  of  the 

I  can't  stay  auy  l°f -' f  ^"^;\f  ~^^  and  so  go 

original  officers,  and  have  never  been  l  ,  ^^_ 

out%-ith  the  original  -S^--*f  Jj^^Jf^  ^  ^^^^  =^  ^"'^ 
enlisted  eighteen  ^^"  ^w*^' f.  re^taid.  I  came  home 
veteran  regiment  and  I  -"^\^^  ;\  X,  .Inty  as  staff- 
before  the  organization.  J-J^^^         ^ou  see  I  wanted 

officer,  and  so  got  a  l^^^'^ J^^^  "^\'a,,\o  make  out  my 
to  he  here  as  early  as  VO^Memo^ier  ^  ^^^^^^^ 

men's  account,  and  muster-out  rolls. 

amount  of  work  to  do  this  week.  ^^  ^^^^^  ^^ 

"Work!"  exclaimed  Ea^^enei        1  ^^^^ 

to  work  than  yon  are  to  fly.     loucant^       , 

sha'n't."  ...       Tf  T  aon't  do  this  ioh 

" But  I  must.     I  am  ^•'^^P«.'^^;^le  ,  Jf  I  do^i  t  J^^_^ 

CKoa-nt.  w  -Kirn  o.rir." 


the  four  copies. 


478         Miss    Ravexel's     Conversion 

sake  as  well  as  mine.  By  Jove  !  -sve  get  horrible  'hard 
measure  in  field  service.  1  have  gone  almost  mad  about 
that  box  during  the  past  six  months  ;  wanted  it  every  day 
and  couldn't  have  it  for  lack  of  transportation  ;  the  War 
Department  demanding  returns,  and  hospitals  demanding 
descriptive  lists  of  wounded  men ;  one  threatening  to  stop 
my  pay,  and  another  to  rej^ort  me  to  the  Adjutant-Gen- 
eral ;  and  I  couldn't  make  out  a  paper  for  lack  of  that  box. 
If  I  had  only  known  that  we  were  coming  to  Virginia,  I 
could  have  prepared  myself,  you  see ;  I  could  have  made 
out  a  memorandum-book  of  my  company  accounts  to 
carry  in  my  pocket ;  but  how  did  I  know  ?" 

He  spoke  as  rapidly  and  eagerly  as  if  he  were  pleading 
his  case  befoi-e  the  Adjutant-General,  and  showing  cause 
why  he  should  not  be  dishonorably  dismissed  the  service. 
After  a  moment  of  gloomy  rejection  he  spoke  agam,  still 
harpmg  on  this  worrying  subject. 

"  I  have  six  months'  unfinished  business  to  write  up,  or 
I  am  a  disgraced  man.  The  Commissary  of  Musters  will 
report  me  to  the  Adjutant-General,  and  the  Adjutant -Gen- 
eral will  dismiss  me  from  the  service.  It's  pretty  jus- 
tice, isn't  it  ?'' 

"  But  if  you  are  a  staft-officer  and  on  detached  service  ?" 

"  That  doesn't  matter.  The  moment  the  muster-out  day 
comes,  I  am  commandant  of  company,  and  responsible  for 
company  papers.  I  ought  to  go  to  work  to-day.  But  I 
can't.     I  am  horribly  tired.     I  may  try  this  evenmg." 

"  No  no,  my  dear  friend,"  implored  the  Doctor.  "  You 
mustn't  talk  in  this  way.  You  will  make  yourself  sick. 
You  are  sick.  Don't  you  know  that  you  are  almost  deli- 
rious on  this  subject  ?" 

"  Am  I  ?  Well,  let's  drop  it.  By  the  way,  how  are 
you  ?  And  how  is  Mrs.  Carter  ?  Upon  my  honor  I  have 
iDcen  shamefully  selfish  in  talking  so  much  about  my 
afiairs.     How  is  Mrs.  Carter,  and  the  little  boy  ?" 

"  Very  well,  both  of  them.  My  daughter  will  be  glad 
to  see  you.     But  you  mustn't  go  out  to-day." 


From    Secession    to    Lotalty.        479 

"  No  uo.  I  want  some  clothes.  I  can't  go  out  in  these 
filthy  rags.  I  am  loaded  and  disreputable  with  the  sacred 
&outhern°soil.  If  you  will  have  the  kuidness  to  ring  the 
bell,  I  will  send  for  a  tailor.  I  must  be  measured  for  a 
citizen's  suit  immediately." 

"  My  dear  fellow,  why  won't  you  undress  and  go  to 
bed  ?    I  will  order  a  strait-jacket  for  you  if  you  don't." 

"  Oh,  you  don't  know  the  strength  of  my  constitution," 
said  Colburne,  with  his  haggard,  feverish,  confident  smile. 

"  Upon  my  soul,  you  look  like  it !"  exclaimed  the  Doc- 
tor, out  of  patience.  "  Well,  what  will  you  have  for  din- 
ner ?     Of  course  you  are  not  going  down." 

"  Not  in  these  tatters — no.  Why,  I  think  I  should  like 
— let.  me  see — some  good — oysters  and  mince  pie." 

The  Doctor  laughed  aloud,  and  then  threw  up  his  hands 
desperately. 

"  I  thought  so.  Stark  mad.  I'll  order  your  dumer  my- 
self, sir.     You  shall  have  some  farina." 

"  Just  as  you  say.  I  don't  care  much.  I  don't  want 
anything.  But  it's  a  long  while  since  I  have  had  a  piece 
of  mince  pie,  and  it  can't  be  as  bad  a  diet  as  raw  pork 
and  green  apples." 

"  I  don't  know,"  answered  the  Doctor.  "  Now  then, 
will  you  promise  to  take  a  bath  and  go  regularly  to  bed 
as  soon  as  I  leave  you  ?" 

"  I  will.  How  you  bully  a  fellow  !  I  tell  you  I'm  not 
sick,  to  speak  of     I'm  only  a  little  worried." 

When  Ravenel  returned  to  his  own  apartment  he  found 
Lillie  waiting  to  go  down  to  dinner. 

"  How  is  he  ?"  she  asked  the  moment  he  opened  the 
door. 

"Very  badly.  Very  feverish.  Hardly  in  his  right 
mind." 

"  Oh  no,  papa,"  remonstrated  Lillie.  "  You  always  ex- 
aggerate such  things.  Now  he  isn't  very  bad  ;  is  he  ?  Is 
he  as  sick  as  he  was  at  Donnelsonville  ?     You  know  how 


480         Miss     RxVvenel's     Conversion 

fast  he  got  well  then.  I  don't  believe  he  is  in  any  danger. 
Is  he  ?"' 

She  took  a  strong  interest  in  him ;  it  was  her  way  to 
take  an  interest  and  to  show  it.  She  had  much  of  what 
the  French  call  expansion,  and  very  little  of  self-repression 
whether  in  feeling  or  speech. 

"  I  tell  you,  my  dear,  that  I  am  exceedingly  anxious. 
He  is  almost  prostrated  by  Aveakness,  and  there  is  a  febrile 
excitement  which  is  weakenmg  him  still  more.  No  im- 
mediate danger,  you  understand  ;  but  the  case  is  certainly 
a  very  delicate  and  uncertain  one.  So  many  of  these  noble 
fellows  die  after  they  get  home  !  I  wouldn't  be  so  anxious, 
only  that  he  thinks  he  has  a  vast  quantity  of  company 
business  on  hand  which  must  be  attended  to  at  once." 

"  Can't  we  do  it,  or  some  of  it,  for  him  ?" 

"  Perhaps  so.  I  dare  say.  Yes,  I  thmk  it  likely.  But 
now  let  us  hurry  down.  I  want  to  order  something  suit- 
able for  his  dinner.  I  must  buy  a  dose  of  morphine,  too, 
that  will  make  him  sleep  till  to-morrow  morning.  He 
7nust  sleep,  or  he  won't  live." 

"  Oh,  papa  I  I  hope  you  didn't  talk  that  way  to  liim. 
you  are  enough  to  frighten  patients  into  the  other  world, 
you  are  always  so  anxious  about  them." 

"  Xot  much  dano-er  of  frio-htenino;  him,"  o-roaned  the 
Doctor.  "  I  wish  he  could  be  scared — just  a  little — just 
enough  to  keep  him  quiet." 

After  dmner  the  Doctor  saw  Colburne  agam.  He  had 
bathed,  had  gone  to  bed,  and  had  an  opiated  doze,  but 
was  still  in  his  state  of  fevered  nervousness,  and  showed 
it,  unconsciously  to  himself,  in  his  conversation.  Just  now 
his  mind  was  running  on  the  subject  of  Gazaway,  prob- 
ably in  connection  with  his  own  lack  of  promotion ;  and 
he  talked  ^'ith  a  bitterness  of  comment,  and  an  irritation 
of  feeling  which  were  very  unusual  with  him. 

"  You  know  the  secret  history  of  his  rehabilitation," 
said  he.  "  Well,  there  is  one  consolation  in  the  miserable 
affair.     He  fooled  our  sly   Governor.      You  know  it  was 


From     Secession    to     Loyalty.         481 

agreed,  that,  after  Gazaway  had  been  whitewashed  T\ith  a 
lieutenant-colonelcy,  he  should  show  his  gratitude  by 
carrying  his  district  for  our  party,  and  then  resign  to  make 
way  for  the  Governor's  nephew.  Major  Rathbun.  But  it 
seems  Gazaway  had  his  own  ideas.  He  knew  a  trick  or 
two  besides  saving  his  bacon  on  the  battle-field.  His  plan 
was  that  he  should  be  the  candidate  for  Congress  from  the 
district.  When  he  found  that  he  couldn't  make  that  work, 
he  did  the  next  best  thing,  and  held  on  to  his  commission. 
Wasn't  it  capital  ?  It  pays  me  for  bemg  overlooked,  dur- 
ing three  years,  in  spite  of  the  recommendations  of  my 
colonel  and  my  generals.  There  he  is  still,  Lieutenant- 
Colonel,  with  the  Governor's  nephew  under  him  to  do  his 
fighting  and  field  duty.  I  don't  know  how  Gazaway  got 
command  of  the  conscript  camp  where  he  has  been  for  the 
last  year.  I  suppose  he  lobbied  for  it.  But  I  know  that 
he  has  turned  it  to  good  account.  One  of  my  sergeants 
was  on  detached  duty  at  the  camp,  and  was  taken  behind 
the  scenes.  He  told  me  that  he  made  two  hundred  dol- 
lars in  less  than  a  month,  and  that  Gazaway  must  have 
pocketed  ten  times  as  much." 

"  How  is  it  possible  that  they  have  not  ferreted  out  such 
a  scoundrel !"  exclaims  the  horror-stricken  Doctor. 

"  Ah !  the  War  Department  has  had  a  great  load  to 
carry.  The  War  Department  has  had  its  hands  too  lull 
of  Jeff  Davis  to  attend  to  every  smaller  rascal." 

"  But  why  didn't  Major  Rathbun  have  him  tried  for  his 
old  offences?  It  was  the  Major's  interest  to  get  him  out 
of  his  own  way." 

"  Those  were  condoned  by  the  acceptance  of  his  resigna- 
tion. Gazaway  died  ofiicially  with  full  absolution ;  and 
then  was  born  again  in  his  reappomtment.  He  could  go 
to  work  with  clean  hands  to  let  substitutes  escape  for  five 
hundred  dollars  a,-piece,  while  the  sergeant  who  allowed 
the  man  to  dodge  him  got  fifty.  Isn't  it  a  beautiful 
story  ?" 

'•'  Shocking  !     But  this  is  doing  you  harm.      You  don't 

X 


482         Miss     Ravenel's     Conversion 

need  talk — you  need  sleej).     I  have  brought  you  a  do&e  to 
make  you  hold  your  tongue  till  to-morrow  mornmg." 

"  Oh,  opium.  I  have  been  living  on  it  for  the  last  forty- 
eight  hours — the  last  week." 

"  Twelve  more  hours  won't  hurt  you.  You  must  stop 
thinking  and  feeling.  I  tell  you  honestly  that  I  never  saw 
you  m  such  a  feverish  state  of  excitation  when  you  were 
wounded.     You  talk  m  a  manner  quite  unlike  yourself" 

"  Very  well,"  said  Colburne  with  a  long-drawn  sigh,  as 
if  resignmg  himself  by  an  effort  to  the  repugnant  idea  of 
repose. 

Here  we  may  as  well  turn  off  Lieutenant-Colonel  Gaza- 
way,  since  he  will  not  be  executed  by  any  act  of  civil  or 
military  justice.  Removed  at  last  from  the  conscript 
camp,  and  ordered  to  the  front,  he  at  once  sent  in  his  res- 
ignation, backed  up  by  a  surgeon's  certificate  of  physical 
disability,  retired  from  the  service  with  a  capital  of  ten  or 
fifteen  thousand  dollars,  removed  to  Xew  York,  set  up  a 
first-class  billiard-saloon,  turned  democrat  once  more,  ob- 
tained a  couple  of  city  offices,  and  now  has  an  income  of 
seven  or  eight  thousand  a-year,  a  circle  of  admiring  hench- 
men, and  a  reputation  for  ability  in  business  and  politics. 
When  he  speaks  in  a  ward  meetmg  or  in  a  squad  of  sj^ecu- 
lators  on  'Change,  his  words  have  ten  times  the  influence 
that  would  be  accorded  in  the  same  places  to  the  utteran- 
ces of  Colburne  or  Ravenel.  I,  however,  prefer  to  write 
the  history  of  these  two  gentlemen,  who  appear  so  unsuc- 
cessful when  seen  from  a  worldly  point  of  view. 

Fearing  to  disturb  Colburne's  slumbers,  Ravenel  did  not 
visit  him  again  until  nine  o'clock  on  the  followmg  morn- 
ing. He  found  him  dressed,  and  lookmg  over  a  mass  of 
company  records,  preparatory  to  commencing  his  muster- 
out  roll. 

"You  ought  not  to  do  that,"  said  the  Doctor.  "You 
are  very  feverish  and  weak.  All  the  strength  you  have  is 
from  opiates,  and  you  tax  your  brain  fearfully  by  driving 
it  on  such  fuel." 


FROii    Secession    to    Loyalty.         483 

"  But  it  must  be  done,  Doctor,"  he  said  with  a  scowl, 
as  if  trying  to  see  clearly  through  clouds  of  fever  and  mor- 
phine. "  ft  is  an  awful  job,"  he  added  with  a  sigh.  "  Just 
see  what  it  is.  I  must  have  the  name  of  every  officer  and 
man  that  ever  belonged  to  the  company— where,  when, 
and  by  whom  enlisted — where,  when,  and  by  whom  mus- 
tered in — when  and  by  whom  last  paid — what  bounty 
paid  and  what  bounty  due — balance  of  clothing  account 
—stoppages  of  all  sorts— facts  and  dates  of  every  promo- 
tion and  reduction,  discharge,  death  and  desertion— num- 
ber and  date  of  every  important  order.  Five  copies  ! 
Why  don't  they  demand  five  hundred  ?  Upon  my  soul,  it 
doesn't  seem  as  if  I  could  do  it," 

"  Why  not  make  some  of  your  men  do  it  ?" 

"  I  have  none  here.  I  am  the  only  man  who  will  go  out 
on  this  paper.  There  is  not  a  man  of  my  origmal  compa- 
ny who  has  not  either  re-eulisted  as  a  veteran,  or  deserted, 
or  died,  or  been  killed,  or  been  discharged  because  of 
wounds,  or  breaking  down  under  hardships." 

"  Astonishmg  I" 

"Very  curious.  That  Shenandoah  campaign  cut  up 
our  regiment  wonderfully.  We  went  there  vdih  four  hun- 
dred men,  and  we  had  less  than  one  hundred  and  fifty 
when  I  left."- 

The  civilian  stared  at  the  coolness  of  the  soldier,  which 
seemed  to  him  much  like  hard-hearted ness.  The  latter 
rubbed  his  forehead  and  eyes,  not  aflected  by  these  tre- 
mendous recollections,  but  simply  seeking  to  gain  clear- 
ness of  brain  enough  to  commence  his  talk. 

"  You  must  not  work  to-day,"  said  the  Doctor. 

"I  have  only  three  days  for  the  job,  and  I  mtist  work 
to-day." 

"  Well — go  on  then.  Make  your  original,  wliich  is,  I 
suppose,  the  great  difficulty ;  and"  my  daughter  and  I  will 
make  the  four  others." 

"  Will  you  ?     How  kind  you  are  I" 

At  nine  o'clock  of  the  folio  whig  mornmg  Colbume  de- 


484  Miss     Ravenel's     Conversion 

livered  to  Ravenel  the  original  muster-out  roll.  During 
that  day  and  the  next  the  father  and  daughter  finished 
the  four  copies,  ^vhile  Colburue  lay  iii  bed,  too  sick  and 
dizzy  to  raise  his  head.  On  the  fourth  day  he  went  by 
railroad  to  the  city  of  ,  the  primary  rendezvous  of 

the  regiment,  and  was  duly  mustered  out  of  existence  as 
an  officer  of  the  United  States  army.  Returning  to  Xew 
iBoston  that  evening,  he  fainted  at  the  door  of  the  hotel, 
was  carried  to  his  room  by  the  porters,  and  did  not  leave 
his  bed  for  forty-eight  hours.  At  the  end  of  that  time  he 
dressed  himself  in  his  citizen's  suit,  and  called  on  Mrs. 
Carter.  She  was  astonished  and  frightened  to  see  him, 
for  he  was  alarmmgly  thin  and  ghastly.  Nevertheless, 
after  the  first  startled  exclamation  of  "  Captain  Colburne  !" 
she  added  with  a  benevolent  hypocrisy,  "  How  much  bet- 
ter you  look  than  I  thought  to  see  you  !" 

He  held  both  her  hands  for  a  moment,  gazing  into  her 
eyes  with  a  profound  gratification  at  their  sympathy,  and 
then  said,  as  he  seated  himself,  "  Tliank  you  for  your  anx- 
iety. I  am  going  to  get  well  now.  I  am  going  to  give 
myself  three  months  of  pure,  perfect  rest." 

The  wearied  man  pronounced  the  word  rest  with  a 
touching  intonation  of  pleasure. 

"  Don't  call  me  Captain,"  he  resumed.  "  The  very  word 
tires  me,  and  I  want  repose.  Besides,  I  am  a'  citizen,  and 
have  a  right  to  the  Mister." 

"He  is  mortified  because  he  was  not  promoted,"  thought 
Lillie,  and  called  him  by  the  threadbare  title  no  more. 

"  It  always  seems  to  be  our  business  to  take  care  of  you 
when  you  are  sick,"  she  said.  "  We  nursed  you  at  Tay- 
lorsville — that  is,  till  we  wanted  some  fighting  done." 

"  That  seems  a  great  while  ago,"  replied  Colburne  med- 
itatively. "How  many  thmgs  have  happened  since  then !" 
he  was  about  to  say,  but  checked  the  utterance  for  fear  of 
giving  her  pain. 

"  Yes,  it  seems  a  long  time  ago,"  she  repeated  soberly, 
for  she  too  thought  how  many  things  had  happened  since 


From    Secession    to    Loyalty.       485 

then,  and  thought  it  with  more  emotion,  than  he  could 
give  to  the  idea.  He  continued  to  gaze  at  l^er  earnestly 
and  with  profound  pity  m  his  heart,  while  his  memory 
flashed  over  the  two  great  incidents  of  maternity  and. 
widowhood.  "  She  has  fought  harder  battles  than  I  have," 
he  said  to  himself,  wondering  meanwhile  to  find  her  so 
little  changed,  and  deciding  that  what  change  there  was 
only  made  her  more  charmmg.  He  longed  to  say  some 
word  of  consolation  for  the  loss  of  her  husband,  but  he 
would  not  speak  of  the  subject  until  she  introduced  it. 
Lillie's  mind  also  wondered  shudderingly  around  that  be- 
reavement, and  then  dashed  desperately  away  from  it, 
without  uttering  a  plaint. 

"  Can  I  see  the  baby  ?"  he  asked,  after  these  few  mo- 
ments of  silence. 

She  colored  deeply,  not  so  much  with  pleasure  and 
pride,  as  with  a  return  of  the  old  virginity  of  soul.  He 
understood  it;  for  he  remembered  that  she  had  blushed  in 
the  same  manner  when  she  met  him  for  the  first  time  after 
her  marriage.  It  was  the  modesty  of  her  womanhood, 
confessing,  "  I  am  not  what  I  was  when  you  saw  me  last." 

"  He  is^not  a  baby,"  she  laughed.  "  He  is  a  great  boy, 
more  than  a  year  old.     Come  and  look  at  him." 

She  led  the  wUy  into  her  room.  It  was  the  fii*st  time 
that  he  had  ever  been  ui  her  room,  and  the  place  filled 
him  with  delicious  awe,  as  if  he  were  in  the  presence  of 
some  sweet  sanctity.  Irish  Rosann,"  sittmg  by  the  bed- 
side and  reading  her  prayer-book,  raised  her  old  head  and 
took  a  keen  survey  of  the  stranger  through  her  silver- 
rimmed  spectacles.  On  the  bed  lay  a  chubby  urchm,  well 
grown  for  a  yearlmg,  his  fair  fiice  red  with  health,  sun- 
burn, and  sleep,  arms  spread  wide  apart,  and  one  dimpled 
leg  and  foot  outside  of  the  coverlet. 

""  There  is  the  Little  Doctor,"  she  said,  bending  down 
and  kissing  a  dimple. 

It  was  a  long  time  since  she  had  called  him  "  Little  Gen- 
eral,"  or,  "  Little  Brigadier."     From  the  worship  of  the 


486         Miss     Ravenel's     Conversion 

husband  she  had  gone  back  in  a  great  measure,  perhaps 
altogether,  tp  the  earlier  and  happier  worship  of  the  parent. 
"  Does  he  look  like  his  grandflither  ?"  asked  Colburne. 
"  Why  !  Can't  you  see  it  ?  He  is  wonderfully  like 
him.  He  has  blue  eyes,  too.  Don't  you  see  the  resem- 
blance ?" 

"  I  think  he  has  more  chms  than  your  father.  He  has 
double  chins  all  the  way  down  to  his  toes,"  said  Colburne, 
pomting  to  the  collops  on  the  little  leg. 

"  You  mustn't  laugh  at  him,"  she  answered.  "  I  sup- 
pose you  have  seen  him  enough.  Men  seldom  take  a 
longer  look  than  that  at  a  baby." 

"  Yes.  I  don't  want  to  wake  him  up.  I  don't  want 
the  responsibility  of  it.  I  wouldn't  assume  the  responsi- 
bilities of  an  ant.     I  haven't  the  energy  for  it." 

They  returned  to  the  little  parlor.  The  Doctor  came  in, 
and  immediately  forced  the  invalid  to  lie  on  a  sofa,  proi> 
phig  him  up  with  pillows  and  proposing  to  cbver  him  with 
an  Aftghan. 

•'  Xo,"  said  Colburne.  "  I  beg  pardon  for  my  obstmacy, 
but  I  suffer  with  heat  all  the  time." 

"  It  is  the  fever,"  said  the  Doctor.  "  Remittent  ma- 
larious fever.  It  is  no  joke  when  it  dates  from  Brashear 
City."^ 

"  It  it  not  bemg  used  to  a  house,"  answered  Colburne, 
stubborn  in  faith  in  his  OAvn  health.  "It  is  wearmg  a 
vest  and  a  broadcloth  coat.  I  really  am  not  strong  enough 
to  bear  the  hardships  of  civilization." 

"  We  shall  see,"  said  the  Doctor  gravely.  "  The  Indians 
die^  of  civilization.  So  does  many  a  returned  soldier. 
You  will  have  to  be  careful  of  yourself  for  a  long  time  to 
come." 

"  I  am,"  said  Colburne.     "  I  sleep  with  windows  open." 

"  Why  didn't  you  write  to  us  that  you  were  sick  ?" 
asked  Lillie. 

"  I  didn't  wish  to  worry  you.  I  knew  you  were  kind 
enough  to  be  wori-ied.     What  was  the  use  ?" 


Feoji    Secession    to    Loyalty.         487 

She  thought  that  it  was  noble,  and  just  like  him,  but 
she  said  nothing.  She  could  not  help  admiring  him,  as  he 
lay  there,  for  lookmg  so  sick  and  weak,  and  yet  so  cheer 
ful  and  courageous,  so  absolutely  mdifferent  to  his  state 
of  bodily  depression.  There  was  not  in  his  face  or  man- 
ner a  single  shadow  of  expression  which  seemed  like  an 
appeal  for  pity  or  sympathy.  He  had  the  air  of  one  who 
had  become  so  accustomed  to  suffering  as  to  consider  it  a 
common-place  matter  not  worthy  of  a  moment's  despon- 
dency, or  even  consideration.  His  look  was  noticeably 
resolute,  and  energetic,  yet  patient. 

"  You  are  the  most  resigned  sick  man  that  I  ever  saw," 
she  said.     "  You  make  as  good  an  invalid  as  a  woman." 

"  A  soldier's  life  cultivates  some  of  the  Christian  virtues," 
he  answered  ;  "  especially  resignation  and  obedience.  Just 
see  here.  You  are  roused  at  midnight,  march  twenty 
miles  on  end,  halt  three  or  four  hours,  perhaps  m  a  pelting 
rain  ;  then  you  are  faced  about,  marched  back  to  your  old 
quarters  and  dismissed  ,  and  nobody  ever  tells  you  why  or 
wherefore.  You  take  it  very  hard  it  first,  but  at  last  you 
get  used  to  it  and  do  just  as  you  are  bid,  without  com- 
plaint or  comment.  You  no  more  pretend  to  reason  con- 
cenimg  your  duties  than  a  millstone  troubles  itself  to  un- 
derstand the  cause  of  its  revolutions.  You  are  set  in  mo- 
tion, and  you  move.  Think  of  bemg  started  out  at  early 
dawn  and  made  to  stand  to  arms  till  daylight,  every 
morning,  for  six  weeks  running.  You  may  grumble  at  it, 
but  you  do  it  all  the  same.  At  last  you  forget  to  grumble 
and  even  to  ask  the  reason  why.  You  obey  because  you 
are  ordered.  Oh  !  a  man  learns  a  vast  deal  of  stoical  vir- 
tue in  field  service.  He  learns  courage,  too,  agamst  sick- 
ness as  well  as  against  bullets.  I  believe  the  war  will 
give  a  manlier,  nobler  tone  to  the  character  of  our  nation. 
The  school  of  suffermg  teaches  grand  lessons." 

"  And  how  will  the  war  end  ?"  asked  Lillie,  anxious,  as 
every  citizen  was,  to  get  the  opinion  of  a  soldier  on  this 
great  question. 


488  Miss    Raven  el's    Con  version 

"  We  shall  beat  them,  of  course." 

"When?" 

"  I  can't  say.  Xobody  can.  I  never  heard  a  military 
man  of  any  merit  pretend  to  fix  the  time.  Xow  that  I  am 
a  civilian,  perhaps  I  shall  resume  the  gift  of  prophecy." 

"  Mr.  Seward  keeps  saying,  in  three  months." 
t     "  Well,  if  he  keeps  saymg  so  long  enough  he  will  hit  it. 
Mr.  Seward  hasn't  been  serious  in  such  talk.     His  only  ob- 
ject was  to  cheer  up  the  nation." 

"  So  we  shall  beat  them  ?"  cheerfully  repeated  the  con- 
verted secessionist.  "  And  what  then  ?  I  hope  we  shall 
pitch  uito  England.  I  hate  her  for  being  so  underhand- 
edly  spiteful  toward  the  Xorth,  and  false  toward  the  South." 

"  Oh  no ;  don't  hate  her.  England,  like  every  body 
else,  doesn't  like  ii  great  neighbor,  and  would  be  pleased 
to  see  him  break  up  into  small  neighbors.  But  England 
is  a  grand  old  nation,  and  one  of  the  lights  of  the  world. 
The  only  satisfaction  which  I  should  find  in  a  war  with 
England  would  be  that  I  could  satisfy  my^  curiosity  en  a 
pomt  of  professional  interest.  I  would  like  to  see  how 
European  troops  fight  compared  Tvith  ours.  I  would 
cheerfully  risk  a  battle  for  the  spectacle." 

"  And  which  do  you  think  would  beat  ?"  asked  Lillie. 

"  I  really  don't  know.  That  is  just  the  question.  Ma- 
rengo against  Cedar  Creek,  Leij^sic  against  the  Wilder- 
ness. I  should  like,  of  all  thmgs  in  the  world,  to  see  the 
trial." 

Thus  they  talked  for  a  couple  of  hours,  in  a  quiet  way, 
strolling  over  many  subjects,  but  discussing  nothmg  of 
deep  personal  interest.  Colburne  was  too  weak  to  have 
much  desire  to  feel  or  to  excite  emotions.  In  studying 
the  young  woman  before  him  he  was  chiefly  occupied  m 
detecting  and  measuring  the  exact  change  which  the  po- 
tent incidents  of  her  later  life  had  wrought  in  her  expres- 
sion. He  decided  that  she  looked  more  serious  and  more 
earnest  than  of  old  ;  but  that  was  the  total  of  his  fancied 
discoveries  ;  in  fact,  he  was  too  languid  to  analyze. 


From    Secession    to    Loyalty.        489 


CHAPTER   XXXV. 

CAPTAIX  COLBURXE  AS  MR.  COLBUEXE. 

DuEixG  three  months  Colburne  rested  from  marches, 
battles,  fatigues,  emotions.  He  was  temporarily  so  worn 
out  in  body  and  mmd  that  he  could  not  even  rally  vigor 
enough  to  take  an  mterest  in  any  but  the  greatest  of  the 
majestic  passing  events.  It  is  to  be  considered  that  he 
had  been  case-hardened  by  war  to  all  ordinary  agitations ; 
that  exj^osure  to  cannon  and  musketry  had  so  calloused 
him  as  that  he  could  read  newspapers  with  tranquillity. 
Accordingly  he  troubled  himself  very  little  about  the 
world ;  and  it  got  along  at  an  amazing  rate  without  his 
assistance.  There  were  no  more  Marengos  in  the  Shenan- 
doah Yalley,  but  there  was  a  Waterloo  near  Petersburg, 
and  an  XJlm  near  Raleigh,  and  an  assassination  of  a  greater 
than  "William  of  Orange  at  Washington,  and  over  all  a 
grand,  re-united,  triumphant  republic. 

As  to  the  battles  Colburne  only  read  the  editorial  sum- 
maries and  official  reports,  and  did  not  seem  to  care  much 
for  "  oiu*  own  correspondent's  "  picturesque  particulars. 
Give  him  the  positions,  the  dispositions,  the  leaders,  the 
general  results,  and  he  kne^w  how  to  infer  the  minutiae.  To 
some  of  his  civilian  friends,  the  brother  abolitionists  of 
former  days,  this  calmness  seemed  like  indifference  to  the 
victories  of  his  country;  and  such  was  the  eagerness  and 
hotness  of  the  times  that  some  of  them  charged  him  T^-ith 
want  of  patriotism,  sympathy  with  the  rebels,  copperhead- 
ism,  etc.  One  day  he  came  into  the  Ravenel  parlor  with 
a  smile  on  his  face,  but  betraying  in  his  manner  something 
of  the  irritability  of  weakness  and  latent  fever. 

"  I  have  heard  a  most  astonishing  thing,"  he  said.  "  I 
have  been  called  a  Copperhead.  I  who  fought  three 
X2 


490         Miss    Ravenel's     Conversion 

years,  marched  the  skin  off  my  feet,  have  been  wounded, 
starved,  broken  down  m  field  service,  am  a  Copperhead. 
The  man  who  inferred  it  ought  to  know ;  he  has  lived 
among  Copperheads  for  the  last  three  years.  He  has  never 
been  in  the  army-^never  smelled  a  pinch  of  rebel  powder. 
There  were  no  Copperheads  at  the  front ;  they  were  all 
here,  at  the  rear,  where  he  was.  He  ought  to  know  them, 
and  he  says  that  I  am  one  of  them.     Isn't  it  amazing  !" 

"  How  did  he  discover  it  ?"  asked  the  Doctor. 

"  "We  were  talking  about  the  war.  This  man — who  has 
never  heard  a  bullet  whistle,  please  remember — asserted 
that  the  rebel  soldiers  were  cowards,  and  asked  my  opin- 
ion. I  demurred.  He  insisted  and  grew  warm.  '  But,' 
said  I,  '  don't  you  see  that  you  spoil  my  glory  ?  Here  I 
have  been  in  the.field  three  years,  finding  these  rebels  a 
very  even  match  in  fighting.  If  they  are  cowards,  I  am  a^ 
poltroon.  The  inference  hurts  me,  and  therefore  I  deny 
the  premise.'  I  think  that  my  argument  aggravated  him. 
He  repeated  positively  that  the  rebels  were  cowards,  and 
that  whoever  asserted  the  contrary  was  a  southern  sympa- 
thiser. '  But,'  said  I,  '  the  rebel  armies  difler  from  ours 
chiefly  in  being  more  purely  American.  Is  it  the  greater 
proportion  of  native  blood  which  causes  the  cowardice  ?' 
Thereupon  I  had  the  Copperhead  brand  ])\\t  upon  my 
forehead,  and  was  excommunicated  from  the  paradise  of 
loyalty.  I  consider  it  rather  stunning.  I  was  the  only 
practical  abolitionist  in  the  company — the  only  man  who 
had  freed  a  negro,  or  caused  tne  death  of  a  slaveholder. 
Doctor,  you  too  must  be  a  Copperhead.  You  have  suf- 
fered a  good  deal  for  the  cause  of  freedom  and  country ; 
but  I  don't  believe  that  you  consider  the  rebel  armies 
packs  of  cowards." 

The  Doctor  noted  the  excitement  of  his  young  friend, 
and  observed  to  himself,  "  Remittent  malarious  fever." 

"  I  get  along  very  easily  with  these  earnest  people,"  he 
added  aloud.  "  They  say  more  than  they  strictly  believe, 
because  their  feelings  are  stronger  than  can  be  spoken. 


From     Secession    to     Loyalty.       491 

They  are  pretty  tart ;  but  they  are  mere  buttermilk  or 
lemonade  compared  with  the  nitric  acid  which  I  used  to 
find  m  Louisiana ;  they  speak  hard  things,  but  they  don't 
stick  you  under  the  fifth  rib  with  a  bowie-knife.  Thanks 
to  my  social  training  in  the  South,  I  am  able  to  say  to  a 
man  who  abuses  me  for  my  opinions, '  Sir,  I  am  profoundly 
grateful  to  you  for  not  cutting  my  throat  from  ear  to  ear. 
I  shall  never  forget  your  politeness.' " 

The  nervous  fretfulness  apparent  in  Colburne's  manner 
on  this  occasion  passed  away  as  health  and  strength  re- 
turned. Another  phenomenon  of  his  recovered  vigor  was 
that  he  began  to  show  a  stronger  passion  for  the  society 
of  Mrs.  Carter  than  he  had  exhibited  when  he  first  returned 
from  the  wars.  On  his  well  days  he  made  a  span  with 
young  Whitewood  at  the  baby  wagon ;  only  it  was  ob- 
servable that,  after  a  few  trials,  they  came  to  a  tacit  un- 
derstandmg  to  take  turns  in  this  duty  ;  so  that  when  one 
was  there,  the  other  kept  away,  in  a  magnaminous,  man 
fashion.  Colburne  found  Mrs.  Carter,  in  the  main,  a  much 
more  serious  person  in  temper  than  when  he  bade  her 
good-bye  in  Thibodeaux.  The  interest  which  this  shadow 
of  sadness  gave  her  in  his  eyes,  or,  perhaps  I  should  say, 
the  interest  with  which  she  invested  the  subject  of  sadness 
in  his  mind,  may  be  inferred  from  the  somewhat  wordy 
fervor  of  the  following  passage,  which  he  penned  about 
this  time  in  his  common-place  book. 

"  The  BigniUj  of  Sorrow.  Grand  is  the  heart  which  is 
ennobled,  not  crushed,  by  sorrow ;  by  mighty  sorrows 
worn,  not  as  manacles,  but  as  a  crown.  Try  to  conceive 
the  dignity  of  a  soul  which  has  suffered  deeply  and  borne 
its  sufferings  well,  as  compared  with  another  soul  which 
has  not  suffered  at  all.  Remember  how  we  respect  a 
veteran  battle-ship— a  mere  dead  mass  of  timber,  ropes, 
and  iron— the  Hartford — after  her  decks  have  run  mth 
blood,  and  been  torn  by  shot.  No  spectacle  of  new  fri- 
gates just  from  the  stocks,  moulded  in  the  latest  perfected 
form,  can  stir  our  souls  with  sympathy  like  the  sight  of 


492         Miss    Rayexel's    Conversion 

the  battered  hulk.  Truly  there  is  something  of  divinity 
in  the  man  of  sorrows,  acquainted  with  grief,  e^en  when 
his  body  is  but  human,  provided  always  that  his  soul  has 
gro-VNTi  purer  by  its  trials." 

At  one  time  Colburne  was  somewhat  anxious  about 
Mrs.  Carter  lest  her  eharacter  should  become  permanently 
sombre  in  consequence  of  lonely  brooding  over  her  trou- 
bles. He  remembered  with  pleasure  her  former  girlish 
gayety,  and  wished  that  it  might  be  again  her  prevailing 
expression. 

"  Do  you  think  you  see  people  enough  ?"  he  asked  her. 
"  I  mean,  a  sufficient  variety  of  people.  Monotony  of  in- 
tellectual diet  is  as  bad  for  the  spiiit  as  monotony  of  physi- 
cal nourishment  for  the  body." 

"  I  am  sure  that  papa  and  Mr.  Whitewood  constitute  a 
variety,"  she  answered. 

Colburne  was  not  badly  pleased  with  this  speech,  inas- 
much as  it  seemed  to  convey  a  slight  slur  upon  Mr.  White- 
wood.  He  was  so  gratified,  in  fact,  that  he  lost  sight  of 
the  subject  of  the  conversation  until  she  recalled  him  to  it. 
"  Do  you  think  I  am  gettmg  musty  ?"  she  inquired. 
"  Of  course  not.  But  there  is  danger  in  a  long-continued 
uniformity  of  spuitual  surroundmgs :  danger  of  running 
into  a  habit  of  reverie,  brooding,  melancholy  :  danger  of 
growing  spiritually  old." 

"  I  know  it.  But  what  can  a  woman  do  ?  It  is  one  of 
the  inconveniences  of  womanhood  that  we  can't  change 
our  surroundings — not  even  our  hoops — at  our  own  pleas- 
ure. We  can't  run  out  into  the  world  and  say.  Amuse  us." 
"  There  are  two  worlds  for  the  two  sexes.  A  man's 
consists  of  all  the  millions  of  earth  and  of  future  time — • 
unless  he  becomes  a  captain  in  the  Tenth  Barataria — then 
he  stays  where  he  began.  A  woman's  consists  of  the 
l^eople  whom  she  meets  daily.  But  she  can  enlarge  it ; 
she  can  make  it  comprehend  more  than  papa  and  -Mr. 
Whitewood." 

"  But  not  more  than  Ravvie,"  said  Lillie. 


From    Secession     to    Loyalty.       493 

As  Colburne  listened  to  this  declaration  be  felt  some- 
thing like  jealousy  of  the  baby,  and  somethmg  like  indigna- 
tion at  Mrs.  Carter.  What  busmess  had  she  to  let  her- 
self be  circumscribed  by  the  limits  of  such  a  diminutive 
creature  ?  This  was  not  the  only  time  that  Lillie  shot  this 
single  arrow  in  her  quiver  at  Mr.  Colburne.  She  talked 
a  great  deal  to  him  about  Ravvie,  believmg  all  the  while 
that  she  kept  a  strict  rein  upon  her  maternal  vanity,  and 
did  not  mention  the  boy  half  as  often  as  she  would  have 
been  justified  in  doing  by  his  obesity  and  other  remark- 
able characteristics.  I  do  not  mean  to  intimate  that  the 
subject  absolutely  and  acrimoniously  annoyed  our  hero. 
On  the  whole  her  maternal  fondness  was  a  pleasant  spec- 
tacle to  him,  especially  when  he  drew  the  inference  that 
so  good  a  mother  would  be  sure  to  make  an  admirable 
wife.  Moreover  his  passion  for  pets  easily  flowed  into  an 
affection  for  this  infant,  and  the  child  increased  the  feelmg 
by  his  grateful  response  to  the  young  bachelor's  attentions. 
Mrs.  Carter  blushed  more  than  once  to  see  her  baby  quit 
her  and  toddle  across  the  room  and  gre^t  Colburne's  en- 
trance. 

"  Eavvie,  come  here,"  she  would  say.  "  You  trouble 
people." 

"  No,  no,"  protested  Colburne,  picking  up  the  little  man 
and  setting  him  on  his  shoulder.  "  I  like  to  be  troubled 
by  people  who  love  me." 

Then  after  a  slight  pause,  he  added  audaciously,  "  I  ne- 
ver have  been  much  troubled  in  that  Avay." 

Mrs.  Carter's  blush  deepened  a  shade  or  two  at  this  ob- 
servation. It  was  one  of  those  occasions  on  Avhich  a  wom- 
an always  says  something  as  mal-apropos  as  possible ;  and 
in  accordance  with  this  instmct  of  her  sex,  she  spoke  of 
the  Russian  Plague,  which  was  then  a  subject  of  gossip 
in  the  papers. 

"  I  am  so  afraid  Ravvie  will  take  it,"  she  said.  "  I  have 
heard  that  there  is  a  case  next  door,  and  I  am  really 
tempted  to  run  away  with  him  for  a  week  or  two." 


494         Miss     R  a  y  e  x  e  l  '  s     C  o  x  v  e  r  s  i  o  x 

"  I  wouldn't,"  replied  Colburne.  "  You  might  run  into 
it  somewhere  else.  One  case  is  not  alarming. '  If  I  had 
forty  children  to  be  responsible  for,  T  wouldn't  break  up 
for  a  single  case." 

"  If  you  had  forty  you  mightn't  be  so  frightened  as  if 
you  had  only  one,"  remarked  Mrs.  Carter,  seriously. 

Then  the  Doctor  came  in,  to  declare  in  his  cheerful  way 
that  there  was  no  Russian  Plague  in  the  city,  and  that, 
even  if  there  were,  it  Avas  no  great  affair  of  a  disease  among 
a  well-fed  and  cleanly  population. 

"  We  are  more  in  danger  of  breaking  out  with  national 
vanity,"  said  he.  "  They  are  singing  anthems,  choruses, 
p?eans  of  praise  to  us  across  the  water.  All  the  nations  of 
Europe  are  welcoming  our  triumph,  as  the  daughters  of 
Judea  went  out  with  cymbals  and  harps  to  greet  the  giant 
killing  David.     Just  listen  to  this." 

Here  he  unfolded  the  Evening  Post  of  the  day,  took  off 
his  eye-glasses,  put  on  his  spectacles,  and  read  extracts 
from  European  editorials  written  on  the  occasion  of  the 
fall  of  Richmond -and  surrender  of  Lee. 

"They  are  more  flattering  than  Fourth  of  July  ora- 
tions," said  Colburne.  "  I  feel  as  though  I  ought  to  go 
straight  down  to  the  sea-shore  and  make  a  bow  across  the 
Atlantic.  It  is  enough  to  make  a  spread  peacock-tail 
sprout  upon  every  loyal  American.  I  am  not  sure  but  that 
the  next  generation  will  be  furnished  with  the  article,  as 
being  absolutely  necessary  to  express  our  consciousness  of 
admiration.  On  the  Darwinian  theory,  you  know;  cir- 
cumstances breed  species." 

"  The  Europeans  seem  to  have  more  enthusiastic  views 
of  us  than  we  do  of  ourselves,"  observed  Lillie.  "  I  never 
thought  of  our  being  such  a  grand  nation  as  Monsieur  La- 
boulaye  paints  us.     You  never  did,  papa." 

"  I  never  had  occasion  to  till  now,"  said  the  Doctor. 
"  As  long  as  we  were  bedraggled  in  slavery  there  was  not 
much  room  for  honest,  intelligent  pride  of  country.  It  is 
difterent  now.  These  Europeans  judge  us  aright ;  we  have 


From    Secession    to    Loyalty.         495 

done  a  stupendous  thing.  -  They  are  outside  of  the  strug- 
gle, and  can  survey  its  proportions  with  the  eyes  with 
which  our  descendants  will  see  it.  I  think  I  can  discover 
a  little  of  its  grandeur.  It  is  the  fifth  act  in  the  grand 
drama  of  hunjan  liberty.  First,  the  Christian  revelation. 
Second,  the  Protestant  reformation.  Third,  the  war  of 
American  Independence.  Fourth,  the  French  revolution. 
Fifth,  the  struggle  for  the  freedom  of  all  men,  without 
distinction  of  race  and  color;  this  Democratic  struggle 
which  confirms  the  masses  in.  an  equality  with  the  few. 
We  have  taught  a  greater  lesson  than  all  of  us  think  or 
understand.  Once  agam  we  have  reminded  the  world  of 
Democracy,  the  futility  of  oligarchies,  the  outlawry  of 
Csesarism." 

"  In  the  long  run  the  right  conquers,"  moralized  Col- 
burne. 

"  Yes,  as  that  pure  and  wise  martyr  to  the  cause  of 
freedom,  President  Lincoln,  said  four  years  ago,  right 
makes  miglit.  A  just  system  of  labor  has  produced  power, 
and  an  unjust  system  has  produced  weakness.  The  North, 
living  by  free  industry,  has  twenty  millions  of  people,  and 
wealth  inexhaustible.  The  South,  living  by  slavery,  has 
twelve  millions,  one  half  of  whom  are  paupers  and  secret 
enemies.  The  right  always  conquers  because  it  always 
becomes  the  strongest.  In  that  sense  '  the  hand  of  God  ' 
is  identical  ^dth  '  the  heaviest  battalions.'  Another  thing 
which  strikes  me  is  the  intensity  of  character  which  our 
people  have  developed.  We  are  no  longer  a  mere  collec- 
tion of  thirty  millions  of  bores,  as  Carlyle  called  us. 
There  never  was  greater  vigor  or  range.  Look  at  Booth, 
the  new  Judas  Iscariot.  Look  at  Blackburn,  who  packed 
up  yellow  fever  rags  with  the  hope  of  poisoning  a  conti- 
nent. What  a  sweep,  what  a  gamut,  from  these  satanic 
wretches  to  Abraham  Lincoln  !  a  purer,  wiser  and  greater 
than  Socrates,  whom  he  reminds  one  of  by  his  plain  sense 
and  homely  humor.  In  these  days — the  days  of  Lincoln, 
Grant   and  Sherman — faith  in  the  imagination — faith  in 


496        Miss    Ravexel's     Cox  version 

the  supernatural  origin  of  humauity — becomes  possible. 
We  see  men  who  are  demoniacal  and  men  who  are  divine. 
I  can  now  go  back  to  my  childhood,  and  read  Plutarch  as 
I  then  read  him,  believing  that  wondrous  men  have  lived 
because  I  see  that  they  do  live.  I  can  now  understand 
the  Paradise  Lost,  for  I  have  beheld  Heaven  fighting  with 
Hell." 

"The  national  debt  will  be  awful,"  observes  Lillie, 
after  the  brief  pause  which  naturally  follows  the  Doctor's 
Cyricism.  "  Three  thousand  millions  !  What  will  my 
share  be  ?" 

"  We  will  pay  it  off,"  says  the  Doctor,  "  in  a  series  of 
operatic  entertainments,  at  a  hundred  thousand  dollars  the 
dress  seats — back  seats  fifty  thousand." 

"  The  southern  character  will  be  improved  by  the  strug- 
gle," observed  Colburne,  after  another  silence.  "They 
will  be  sweetened  by  adversity,  as  their  persimmons  are 
by  frost.  Besides,  it  is  such  a  calming  thing  to  have  one's 
tight  out !  It  draws  off  the  bad  blood.  But  Avhat  are 
we  to  do  about  punishmg.the  masses?  I  go  for  punish- 
ing only  the  leaders." 

"  Yes,"  coincided  the  Doctor.  "  They  are  the  respon- 
sible criminals.  It  is  astonishing  how  imperiously  strong 
chara^i'ters  govern  weak  ones.  You  will  often  meet  with 
a  man  who  absolutely  enters  into  and  possesses  other  men, 
making  them  talk,  act  and  feel  as  if  they  were  himself 
He  puts  them  on  and  wears  them,  as  a  soldier  crab  puts 
on  and  wears  an  empty  shell.  For  instance,  you  hear  a 
man  talking  treason  ;  you  look  at  him  and  say,  '  It  is  that 
poor  fool.  Cracker.'  But  all  the  while  it  is  Planter,  who, 
being  stronger  minded  than  Cracker,  dwells  m  him  and 
blasphemes  out  of  his  windows.  Planter  is  the  living 
crab,  and  Cracker  is  the  dead  shell.  The  question  comes 
up,  '  Which  shall  we  hang,  and  which  shall  we  pardon  ?'  I 
say,  hang  Planter,  and  tell  Cracker  to  get  to  work. 
Planter  gone,  some  better  man  will  occupy  Cracker  and 
make  him  speak  and  live  virtuously." 


From    Secession    to    Loyalty.         497 

But  strange  as  it  may  seem,  unpatriotic  as  it  may  seem, 
there 'was  a  subject  which  interested  Colburne  more  than 
these  great  matters.     It  was  a  woman,  a  widow,  a  mother, 
who,  as  he  supposed,  still  mourned  her  dead  husband,  and 
only  loved  among  the  livmg  her  father  and  her  child. 
How  imperiously,  for  wise  ends,  we  are  governed  by  the 
passion  of  sex  for  sex,  m  spite  of  the  superficial  pleas  of 
selfish  reason  and  interest !     What  other  quality,  physical 
or  moral,  have  we  that  could  take  the  j^lace   of  this  bene- 
ficently despotic  mstinct  ?  Do  you  believe  that  conscience, 
sense  of  duty,  jihilanthropy,  would  induce  men  and  women 
to  bear  with  each  other — to  bring  children  into  the  world 
— to  save  the  race  from  extmction  ?     Strike  out  the  affec- 
tion of  sex  for  sex,  and  earth  would  be,  first  a  hell,  then  a 
desert.     God  is  not  very  far  from  every  one  of  us.     The 
nation  was  not  more   certainly  guided  by  the  hand  of 
Providence  m  overthrowing  slavery,  than  was  this  man 
in  loving  this  woman.     I  do  not  suspect  that  any  one  of 
these  reflections  entered  the  mind  of  Colburne,   although 
he  was  intellectually  quite  capable  of  such  a  small  amount 
of  philosophy.     AYe  never,  or  hardly  ever  think  of  apply- 
ing general  piinciples  to  our  own  cases  ;  and  he  believed, 
as  a  matter  of  course,  that  he  liked  Mrs.  Carter  simply  be- 
cause she  was  individually  loveable.     On  other  subjects 
he  could  think  and  talk  with  perfect  rationality ;  he  could 
even  discourse  transcendentally  to  her  concernmg  her  own 
heart  history.     For  instance,  one  day  when  she  was  sadder 
than  usual,  nervous,  irritable,  and  iu  imperious  need  of  a 
sympathismg  confidant,  she  alluded  shyly  to  her  sorrows, 
and,  finding  him  willing  to  listen,   added  frankly,  "  Oh,  I 
have  been  so  unhappy  !" 

It  is  rather  strange  that  he  did  not  sieze  the  opportunity 
and  say,  "  Let  me  be  your  consoler."  But  he  too  Avas  in 
a  temporarily  morbid  state,  his  mind  unpractical  with 
fever  and  weakness,  wandermg  helplessly  around  the  ideas 
of  trouble  and  consolation  like  a  moth  around  the  be- 


498         Miss     R  a  vex  el's     Coxversiox 

wilderment  of  a  candle,  and  not  able  to  perceive  that  the 
great  comforter  of  life  is  action,  lahor,  duty. 

"  So  have  multitudes,"  he  answered.  "  There  is  some 
comfort  in  that." 

"  How  can  you  say  so  ?"  she  asked,  turning  upon  him 
in  astonishment. 

"  Look  here,"  he  answered.  "  There  are  ten  thousand 
blossoms  on  an  apple  tree,  but  not  five  hundred  of  them 
mature  into  fruit.  So  it  is  with  us  human  beings  :  a  few 
succeed,  the  rest  are  failures.  It  is  a  part  of  the  method 
of  God.  He  creates  many,  m  order  that  some  may  be 
sure  to  reach  his  proposed  end.  He  abounds  in  means; 
he  has  more  material  than  he  needs  ;  he  minds  nothing  but 
his  results.  You  and  I,  even  if  we  are  blighted  blooms, 
must  be  content  with  knowing  that  his  purposes  are  cer- 
tain to  be  fulfilled.  If  we  fail,  others  will  succeed,  and  in 
that  fact  we  can  rejoice,  forgetting  ourselves." 

"  Oh  !  but  that  is  very  hard,"  said  Lillie. 

"  Yes  ;  it  is.  But  what  right  have  we  to  demand  that 
we  shall  be  happy  ?  That  is  a  condition  that  we  have  no 
right  and  no  power  to  make  with  the  Creator  of  the  Uni- 
verse. Our  desire  should  be  that  we  might  be  enabled  to 
make  others  happy.  I  wonder  that  this  should  seem  hard 
doctrine  to  you.  Women,  if  I  understand  them,  are  full 
of  self-abnegation,  and  live  through  multitudes  of  self- 
sacrifices." 

"  And  still  it  sounds  haixl,"  persisted  Lillie.  "  I  could 
not  bear  another  sacrifice." 

She  closed  her  eyes  under  an  impulse  of  spiritual  agony, 
as  the  thought  occurred  to  her  that  she  might  yet  be 
called  on  to  give  up  her  child. 

"  I  am  sorry  you  have  been  unhappy,"  he  said,  much 
moved  by  the  expression  of  her  face  at  this  moment.  "  I 
have  sympathised  with  you,  oh,  so  much  !  without  ever 
saying  a  word  before." 

She  did  not  stop  him  from  takmg  her  hand,  and  for  a 
few  moments  did  not  withdi'aw  it  from  his  grasp.     Far 


FEOii    Secession    TO    Loyalty.         499 

deeper  than  the  philosophy,  which  she  could  understand 
but  not  feel,  these  simple  and  common-place  words,  just 
such  as  any  child  might  utter  stole  mto  her  heart,  convey- 
in  o- a  tearful  sense  of  comfort  and .  eliciting  a  throb  of 
gratitude. 

But  their  conversation  was  not  often  of  so  melancholy 
and  sentimental  a  nature.  She  had  more  gay  hours  ^dth 
this  old  friend  during  a  few  weeks  than  she  had  had  dur- 
ing six  months  previous  to  his  arrival.  She  often  laughed 
Avhen  the  tears  Avere  ready  to  start ;  but  gradually  the 
spu-it  of  laughter  was  expelling  the  spirit  of  tears.  She 
was  hardly  sensible,  I  suspect,  how  thoroughly  he  was 
wmding  himself  into  all  her  emotions,  her  bygone  griefs, 
her  present  consolations,  her  pitying  remembrance  of  her 
husband,  her  love  for  her  father  and  child,  her  recollec- 
tions of  the  last  four  years,  so  full  for  her  of  life  and  feel- 
ing. His  presence  recalled  by  turns  all  of  these  things, 
sweeping  gently,  like  a  hand  timid  because  of  affection, 
over  every  chord  of  her  heart.  Man  has  great  power  over 
a  woman  when  he  is  so  gifted  or  so  circumstanced  that 
he  can  touch  that  strongest  part  of  her  nature,  her  senti- 
ments. 

However,  it  must  not  be  supposed  that  Mr.  Colburne 
was  at  this  time  playing  a  very  audible  tune  on  Mrs.  Car- 
ter's heart-strings,  or  that  he  even  distinctly  intended  to 
touch  that  delicate  instrument.  He  was  quite  aware  that 
he  must  better  his  pecuniary  condition  before  he  could 
honorably  meddle  in  such  lofty  music. 

"I  must  go  to  work,"  he  said,  after  he  had  been  at 
home  nearly  three  months.  "  I  shall  get  so  decayed  with 
laziness  that  I  sha'n't  be  able  to  pick  myseif  up.  I  shall 
cease  to  be  respectable  if  I  lounge  any  longer  than  is  ob- 
solutely  necessary  to  restore  my  health." 

"  Yes,  work  is  best,"  answered  the  Doctor.  "  It  is  our 
earthly  glory  and  blessing.  It  is  a  great  comfort  to  think 
that  the'evil  spirit  of  no-work  is  pretty  much  exorcised 
from  our  nation.     The  victory  of  the  North  is  at  bottom 


500  Miss     Rayexel's     Conversion 

the  triumph  of  laboring  men  living  by  their  own  industry, 
over  non-laboring  men  who  wanted  to  live  by  the  mdustry 
of  others.  Euroj^e  sees  this  even  more  plainly  than  we 
do.  All  over  that  continent  the  industrious  classes  hail 
the  triumph  of  the  Xorth  as  their  own  victory.  Slavery 
meant  in  reality  to  create  an  idle  nobility.  Liberty  has 
established  an  industrious  democracy.  In  working  for 
our  own  living  we  are  obeying  the  teachings  of  this  war, 
the  triumj^hant  spirit  of  our  country  and  age.  The  ycamg 
man  who  is  idle  now  belongs  to  bygone  and  semi-barbar- 
ous centuries  ;  he  is  more  of  an  old  fogy  than  the  narrow-  _ 
est  minded  farm-laborer  or  ditch-digging  emigrant.  AYhat 
a  prosperous  hive  this  will  be  now  that  it  contains  no  class 
of  drones  !  There  was  no  hope  of  good  from  slavery.  It 
was  like  that  side  of  the  moon  which  never  sees  the  bright 
face  of  the  Earth  and  whose  night  is  always  darkness,  no 
matter  how  the  heavens  revolve.  Yes,  we  must  all  go  to 
work.  That  is,  we  must  be  useful  and  respectable.  I  am 
very  glad  for  your  sake  that  you  have  studied  a  profes- 
sion. A  young  man  brought  up  in  literary  and  scientific 
circles  is  subject  to  the  temptation  of  concluding  that  it 
will  be  a  fine  thing  to  have  no  calling  but  letters.  He  is 
apt  to  think  that  he  will  make  his  living  by  his  pen.  isTow 
that  is  all  wrong ;  it  is  wrong  because  the  pen  is  an  un- 
certain means  of  existence  ;  for  no  man  should  voluntarily 
place  himself  in  the  condition  of  living  from  hand  to 
mouth.  Every  university  man,  as  well  as  every  other 
man,  should  learn  a  profession,  or  a  busines?,  or  a  trade. 
Then,  when  he  has  somethmg  solid  to  fall  back  upon,  he 
may  if  he  chooses  try  what  he  can  do  as  a  scholar  or  au- 
thor." 

"  I  shall  re-open  my  law  office,"  said  Colburne. 

"I  wonder  if  it 'would  be  unhandsome  or  unfaii*," 
queried  the  Doctor,  "  if  I  too  should  open  an  office  and 
take  such  patients  as  might  offer." 

"  I  don't  see  it.  I  don't  see  it  at  all,"  responded  Col- 
burne. 


Fkom     Secession    to     Loyalty.  501 

"  Xor  do  I,  either — considering  my  necessities,"  said 
Ravenel,  meanwhile  calculatmg  internally  how  much 
longer  his  small  cash  capital  would  last  at  the  present 
rate  of  decrease. 

Within  a  week  after  this  conversation  two  offices  were 
opened,  and  the  professional  ranks  of  Kew  Boston  were 
reinforced  by  one  doctor  and  one  lawyer. 

"  Papa,  now  that  you  have  set  up  a  sign,"  said  Lillie, 
"  I  will  trust  you  entirely  ^vith  Ravvie." 

"Yes,  women  always  ask  after  a  sign,"  observed  Rav- 
enel. "  It  is  astonishing  how  much  the  sex  believes  in 
pretense  and  show.  If  I  should  advertise  myself — no 
matter  how  ignorant  I  might  be — as  a  specialist  in  female 
maladies,  I  could  have  all  the  lady  invalids  in  Xew  Boston 
for  patients.  Positively  I  sometimes  get  out  of  patience 
with  the  sex  for  its  streaks  of  silliness.  I  am  occasionally 
tempted  to  believe  that  the  greatest  difficulty  which  man 
has  overcome  in  climbing  the  heights  of  civilization  is  the 
fact  that  he  has  had  to  tote  women  on  his  shoulders." 

"  I  thought  you  never  used  negro  phrases,  j^apa." 

"  I  pass  that  one.  Tote  has  a  monosyllabic  vigor  about 
it  which  pleads  for  it." 

"  You  know  Mrs.  Poyser  says  that  women  are  fools  be- 
cause they  were  made  to  match  the  men." 

"Mrs.  Poyser  was  a  very  intelligent  woman — well 
worthy  of  her  son,  Ike,"  returned  the  Doctor,  who  knew 
next  to  nothmg  of  novels, 

"  Now  go  to  your  office,"  said  Lillie,  "  and  if  Mrs.  Poy- 
ser calls  on  you,  don't  give  her  the  pills  meant  for  Mrs. 
Partington.     They  are  different  ladies." 

Colburne  did  not  regret  that  he  had  been  a  soldier ;  he 
would  not  have  missed  the  battle  of  Cedar  Creek  alone 
for  a  thousand  dollars ;  but  he  sometimes  reflected  that  if 
he  had  remained  at  home  during  the  last  three  years,  he 
might  now  be  in  a  lucratire  practice.  From  his  salary  as 
captain  he  had  been  able  to  lay  up  next  to  nothing.  Nom- 
inally it  was  fifteen  hundred  and  sixty  dollars ;  but  the  in- 


502  Miss     Ravenel's     Coxveesion 

come  tax  took  out  thirty  dollars,  and  he  had  forfeited  the 
monthly  ten  dollars  allowed  for  responsibility  of  arms, 
etc.,  during  the  time  he  was  on  staff  duty  ;  in  addition  to 
which  gold  had  been  up  to  290,  diminishing  the  cash  value 
of  his  actual  pay  to  less  than  five  hundred  dollars.  Fur- 
thermore he  had  lent  largely  to  brother  officers,  and  in 
consequence  of  the  death  of  the  borrowers  on  heroic  fields, 
had  not  always  been  repaid.  Yan  Zandt  owed  him  two 
hundred  dollars,  and  Carter  had  fallen  before  he  could  re- 
turn him  a  similar  sum.  Nevertheless,  thanks  to  the  in- 
dustiy  and  economy  of  a  father  long  since  buried,  the 
young  man  had  a  sufficient  income  to  support  him  while 
he  could  plant  the  slowly  growing  trees  of  business  and 
profit.  He  could  live  ;  but  could  he  marry  ?  Gold  was 
falling,  and  so  were  prices ;  but  even  before  the  war  one 
thousand  dollars  a  year  would  not  support  two ;  and  now 
it  certainly  would  be  insufficient  for  three.  He  considered 
this  question  a  great  deal  more  than  was  necessary  for  a 
man  who  meant  to  be  a  bachelor ;  and  occasionally  a 
recollection  of  'White'wood's  eighty  thousand  gave  him  a 
pang  of  envy,  or  jealousy,  or  both  together. 

The  lucre  which  he  so  earnestly  desired,  not  for  its  own 
stupid  sake,  but  for  the  gratification  of  a  secretly  nursed 
purpose,  began  to  flow  in  upon  him  in  small  but  constant 
driblets.  Some  enthusiastic  j^eople  gave  him  their  small 
jobs  in  the  way  of  conveyancing,  etc.,  because  he  had 
fought  three  years  for  his  country ;  and  at  least,  somewhat 
to  his  alarm,  a  considerable  case  was  thrust  upon  him, 
with  a  retaining  fee  which  he  immediately  banked  as  being 
too  large  for  his  pocket.  Conscious  that  his  legal  erudi- 
tion was  not  great,  he  went  to  a  former  fellow  student 
who  during  the  past  four  years  had  burrowed  himself 
into  a  good  practice,  and  proposed  that  they  should  take 
the  case  m  partnership. 

"  You  shall  be  counsellor,"  said  he,  "and  I  will  be  ad- 
vocate. You  shall  furnish  the  law  skeleton  of  the  plea^ 
and  I  will  clothe  it  with  appeals  to  the  gentlemen  of  the 


From  Secession    to    Loyalty.  503 

jury.  I  used  to  be  famous  for  spouting,  you  know ;  and  I 
think  I  could  ask  a  few  questions." 

"  I  will  do  it  for  a  tliird,"  said  the  other,  who  was  not 
himself  a  pleader. 

"  Good  !" 

It  was  done  and  the  case  was  gained.  The  pecuniary 
profits  were  divided,  but  Colburne  carried  away  all  the 
popular  fame,  for  he  had  spouted  in  such  a  manner  as 
quite  to  dissolve  the  gentlemen  of  the  jury.  The  two 
young  men  went  into  partnership  on  the  basis  afforded  by 
their  "first  transaction,  and  were  soon  in  possession  of  a 
promismg  if  not  an  opulent  busmess.  It  began  to  seem 
possible  that,  at  a  not  very  distant  day,  Colburne  might 
mean  something  if  he  should  say,  "  I  endow  thee  mth  my 
worldly  goods." 


CHAPTER  XXXVI. 

A  BRACE  OF  OFFERS. 

At  last  Colburne  gave  Mrs.  Carter  a  bouquet.  It  was 
a  more  significant  act  than  the  reader  who  loves  flowers 
will  perceive  without  an  explanation.  Fond  as  he  was 
of  pets  and  of  most  things  which  are,  or  stand  as  emblems 
of  innocence,  he  cared  very  little  for  flowers  except  as 
features  of  a  landscape.  He  was  conscious  of  a  gratifica- 
tion in  walking  along  a  field  path  which  ran  through 
dandelions,  buttercups,  etc.;  but  he  never  would  have 
thought  of  picking  one  of  them  for  his  own  pleasure  any 
more  than  of  picking  a  maple  tree.  In  short,  he  was  defi- 
cient in  that  sense  which  makes  so  many  people  crave 
their  presence,  and  could  probably  have  lived  in  a  flower- 
less  land  without  any  painfnl  sentiment  of  barrenness. 
Therefore  it  was  only  a  profound  and  affectionate  study 


504  Miss     Ravenel's     Conversion 

into  Mrs.  Carter's  ways  and  tastes  which  brought  him  to 
the  point  of  buying  and  bringing  to  her  a  bouquet. 

He  was  actually  surprised  at  the  flush  of  pleasure  with 
Avhich  she  received  it :  a  pleasure  evidently  caused  in 
great  measure  by  the  nature  of  the  gift  itself;  and  only  in 
small  part,  he  thought,  by  a  consciousness  of  the  motives 
of  the  giver.  He  watched  her  with  great  interest  while 
she  gaily  filled  a  vase  with  water,  put  the  bouquet  in  it, 
placed  it  on  the  mantel  piece,  stej^ped  back  to  look  at  it, 
then  set  it  on  her  work-table,  took  in  the  effect  once  more, 
drcAV  a  pleased  sigh  and  resumed  her  seat.  Her  Diana- 
like, graceful  form  showed  to  advantage  in  the  plain  black 
dress,  and  her  wavy  blonde  hair  seemed  to  him  specially 
beautiful  in  its  contrast  with  her  plain  widow's  cap.  Youth 
mth  its  health  and  hope  had  brought  back  the  rounded 
outlines  which  at  one  time  had  been  a  little  wasted  by 
maternity  and  sorrow.  Her  white  and  smgularly  clear 
s'kin  had  resumed  its  soft  roseate  tint  and  could  show  as 
distinctly  as  ever  the  motions  of  the  quickly-stirred  blood. 
Her  blue  eyes,  if  not  as  gay  as  they  were  four  years  ago 
were  more  eloquent  of  experience,  thought,  and  feeling. 
Mr.  Colburne  must  be  pardoned  for  thmking  that  she  was 
more  beautiful  than  the  bouquet,  and  for  wondermg  how 
she  could  prize  a  loveliness  so  much  inferior  in  grace  and 
expression  to  her  own. 

"  Do  you  know  ?"  she  said,  and  then  checked  herself. 
She  was  about  to  remind  him  that  these  were  the  first 
flowers  Avhich  he  ever  gave  her,  and  to  laugh  at  him  good 
humoredly  for  havmg  been  so  slow  in  divming  one  of  her 
passions.  But  the  idea  struck  her  that  the  gift  might  be, 
for  the  very  reason  of  its  novelty,  too  significant  to  be  a 
proper  subject  for  her  comments. 

"  Do  you  know,"  she  continued,  after  a  scarcely  per- 
ceptible hesitation,  "  that  I  am  not  so  fond  of  flowers  as  I 
was  once  ?  They  remind  me  of  Louisiana,  and  I — don't 
love  Louisiana." 

"  But  this  is  thanking   you  very  poorly  for  your  pre- 


Fkom     Secession     to     Loyalty.         505 

sent,"  she  added,  after  another  and  longer  pause.  "  You 
know  that  I  am  obliged  to  you.     Don't  you  ?" 

"  I  do,"  said  Colburne.  He  had  been  many  times  re- 
paid for  his  offering  by  seeing  the  pams  which  she  took  to 
preserve  it  and  place  it  to  the  best  advantage. 

"  It  is  very  odd  to  me,  though,  that  you  never  seemed 
to  love  them,"  she  observed,  reverting  to  her  first  thought. 

"  It  is  my  misfortune.  I  have  a  pleasure  the  less.  It  is 
like  not  having  an  ear  for  music." 

"  How  can  you  love  poetry  without  loving  flowers  ?" 

"  I  knew  a  sculptor  once  who  couldn't  find  the  slightest 
charm  or  the  slightest  exhibition  of  cajDacity  in  an  opera.  I 
had  a  soldier  in  my  company  who  could  see  perfectly  well 
by  daylight,  but  was  stone  blind  by  moonlight.  That  is 
the  way  some  of  us  are  made.  We  are  but  partially  de- 
veloped or,  rather,  not  developed  equally  in  all  directions. 
My  aesthetic  self  seems  to  be  lacking  in  button-holes  for 
bouquets.  If  I  could  carry  a  landscape  about  in  my  hand, 
I  think  I  would  ;  but  not  a  bunch  of  flowers." 

"  But  you  love  children ;  and  they  are  flowers." 

"Ah!  but  they  are  so  human!  They  make  a  noise; 
they  appreciate  you  comprehensibly ;  they  go  after  a 
fellow." 

So  you  like  people  who  go  after  you  ?  thought  Mrs. 
Carter,  smiling  to  herself  at  the  confession.  Somehow  she 
was  interested  in  and  pleased  vdtb.  the  minutest  peculiar- 
ities of  Mr.  Colburne. 

From  that  day  forward  her  work  table  rarely  lacked  a 
bouquet,  although  her  friend's  means,  after  paying  his 
board  bill,  were  not  by  any  means  amj^le.  In  fact  there 
soon  came  to  be  two  bouquets,  representing  rival  admirers 
of  the  lady.  Young  Whitewood,  who  loved  flowers,  and 
had  a  greenhouse  full  of  them,  but  had  never  hitherto 
dared  present  one  to  the  pretty  widow,  took  courage  from 
Colburne's  example,  and  far  exceeded  him  in  the  sump- 
tuousness  of  his  offerings.  By  the  way,  I  must  not  neglect 
this  shy  gentleman's  claims  to  a  place  in  my  narrative.  He 


506         Miss    Rate  x  el's     Conversion 

Tras  a  prorament  figure  of  evenings  in  the  Ravenel  parlor, 
and  did  a  great  deal  of  talking  there  on  learned  subjects 
^Yitb.  the  Doctor,  sitting  the  while  on  the  edge  of  his 
chair,  with  his  thin  legs  twisted  around  each  other  in  such 
a  Avay  as  to  exhibit  with  painful  distinctness  their  bony 
outlines.  Each  of  these  young  men  was  considerably 
afraid  of  the  other.  Colbunie  recognized  the  fact  that  a 
fortune  of  eighty  thousand  dollars  would  be  a  very  suit- 
able adjunct  to  Mrs.  Carter's  personal  and  social  graces, 
and  that  it  would  be  perfectly  proper  in  her  to  accept  it  if 
offered,  as  it  seemed  likely  to  be.  Whitewood  bowed 
modestly  to  Colburne's  superior  conversational  cleverness, 
and  humbled  himself  in  the  dust  before  his  honorable  fame 
as  a  soldier.  What  was  he,  a  man  of  j^eace,  a  patiiot  who 
had  only  talked  and  paid,  in  comparison  wkh  this  other 
man  who  had  shed  his  blood  and  risked  his  life  for  their 
common  country  and  the  cause  of  human  progress  ?  So 
when  the  Captain  talked  to  Mrs.  Carter,  the  tutor  con- 
tented himself  with  Doctor  Ravenel.  He  was  painfully 
conscious  of  his  own  stiffness  and  coldness  of  style,  and 
mourned  over  it,  and  envied  the  ease  and  wannth  of  these 
southerners.  To  tliis  subject  he  frequently  alluded,  driven 
thereto  by  a  sort  of  agony  of  conviction  ;  for  the  objective 
White  wood  imperfectly  expressed  the  subjective,  who 
thought  earnestly  and  felt  ardently. 

"  I  don't  understand,"  he  said  mournfully,  "  why  i>eo- 
ple  of  the  same  blood  should  be  so  different — in  tact,  so 
oj^posed — in  manner,  as  are  the  northerners  and  south- 
erners." 

"  The  difference  spiings  from  a  radical  difference  of  pur- 
pose in  their  lives,"  said  the  Doctor.  "  The  pro-slavery 
South  meant  oligarchy,  and  imitated  the  manners  of  the 
European  nobility.  The  democratic  Xortli  means  equality 
— every  man  standing  on  his  own  legs,  and  not  bestriding 
other  men's  shoulders — every  man  passing  for  just  what 
he  is,  and  no  more.  It  means  honesty,  sincerity,  frank- 
ness, in  word  as  well  as  deed.      It  means   c^eneral   hard 


Feom     Secession    to     Loyalty.  507 

work,  too,  ill  consequence  of  which  there  is  less  chance  to 
cultivate  the  graces.  The  polish  of  the  South  is  superficial 
and  semi-barbarous,  like  that  of  the  Poles  and  all  other 
slaveholding  oligarchies.  I  confess,  however,  that  I  should 
like  to  see  a  little  more  sympathy  and  expansion  in  the 
northern  manners.  A  native,  untravelled  New  Bostonian 
is  rather  too  much  in  the  style  of  an  iceberg.  He  is  enough 
to  cause  atmospheric  condensation  and  changes  of  temper- 
ature. It  is  a  story  that  when  a  new  Yankee  arrives  in 
the  warm  air  of  Louisiana,  there  is  always  a  shower.  But 
that,  you  know,  is  an  exaggeration." 

Whitewood  laughed  in  a  disconcerted,  conscience- 
stricken  manner. 

"  Xevertheless,  they  do  a  vast  deal  of  good,"  continued 
the  Doctor.  "  They  purify  as  well  as  disturb  the  atmo- 
sphere. To  me,  a  southerner,  it  is  a  humiliatmg  reflection, 
that,  but  for  these  Yankees  and  their  cold  moral  purity, 
we  should  have  established  a  society  upon  the  basis  of 
the  most  horrible  slavery  that  the  world  has  known 
since  the  days  of  pagan  Rome." 

Whitewood  glanced  at  Mrs.  Carter.  She  smiled  acqui- 
escence and  sympathy ;  her  conversion  from  secession  and 
slavery  was  complete. 

All  this  while  Colburne  boarded  at  the  I^ew  Boston 
House,  and  saw  the  Doctor  and  Mrs.  Carter  and  Ravvie 
every  day.  When  they  went  down  to  the  sea-shore  for  a 
week  during  the  hot  weather,  he  could  not  leave  his  busi- 
ness to  accompany  them,  as  he  wished,  but  must  stay  in 
New  Boston,  feeling  miserably  lonesome  of  evenmgs, 
although  he  knew  hundreds  of  people  in  the  little  city.  It 
was  an  aggravation  of  his  troubles  to  learn  that  Mr. 
Whitewood  had  followed  the  Ravenels  to  the  watering- 
place.  When  the  family  returned,  still  accompanied  by 
the  eighty  thousand  dollar  youth,  Colbunie  looked  very 
searchingly  into  the  eyes  of  Mrs.  Carter  to  discover  if  pos- 
sible what  she  had  been  doing  with  herself  She  noticed 
it,  and  blushed  deeply,  which  puzzled  and  troubled  him 


508        Miss    Raven,  el's     Conversion 

through  hours  of  subsequent  meditation.  If  they  were  en- 
gaged, they  would  certainly  tell  me,  thought  he ;  but  nev- 
ertheless he  was  not  entirely  easy  about  the  matter. 

It  happened  the  next  evening  that  he  lounged  into  one 
of  the  small  parlors  of  the  hotel,  intending  to  pass  out 
upon  a  little  front  balcony  and  look  at  the  moonlit,  elm- 
arched  glories  of  the  Common.  A  murmur  of  two  voices 
— a  male  voice  and  a  female — came  in  from  the  balcony 
and  checked  his  advance.  As  he  hesitated  young  White- 
wood  entered  the  room  through  the  open  window,  hastily 
followed  a  moment  afterward  by  Mrs.  Carter. 

"  Mr.  Whitewood,  please  say  nothing  about  this,"  she 
whispered.     "  Of  course  you  will  not.     I  never  shall." 

"  Certainly,  not,"  replied  the  young  man.  The  tone  in 
which  he  spoke  was  so  low  that  Colburne  could  detect  no 
expression  in  it,  whether  of  despondency  or  triumph. 
Entering  as  they  did  from  the  moonlight  into  a  room 
Avhich  had  been  left  unlighted  in  order  to  keep  out  sum- 
mer bisects,  neither  of  them  perceived  the  involuntary 
listener.  Whitewood  went  out  by  the  door,  and  Mrs. 
Carter  returned  to  the  balcony.  In  order  that  the  reader 
may  be  spared  the  trouble  of  turning  over  a  few  pages 
here,  I  will  state  frankly  that  the  young  man  had  pro- 
posed and  been  refused,  and  that  Mrs.  Carter  had  begged 
him  not  to  let  the  aliair  get  abroad  because — well,  because 
a  sudden  impulse  came  over  her  to  do  just  that,  whether 
it  concerned  her  or  not  to  'keep  the  secret. 

Colburne  remained  alone,  in  such  an  agony  of  anxiety 
as  he  had  not  believed  himself  capable  of  feeling.  All  the 
stoicism  which  he  had  learned  by  forced  marches,  starva- 
tions, and  battles  was  insufficient,  or  was  not  of  the  proper 
kind,  to  sustain  him  comfortably  under  the  torture  in- 
flicted by  his  supposed  discovery.  The  Rachel  whom  he 
had  waited  for  more  than  four  years  was  again  lost  to  him. 
But  was  she  lost  ?  asked  the  hope  that  never  dies  in  us.  It 
was  not  positively  certain;  words  and  situations  may 
have  different  meanings;  his   rival  did  not  seem  much 


From     Secession    to    Loyalty.       509 

elated.  He  would  ask  Mrs.  Carter  what  the  scene  meant, 
and  learn  his  fate  at  once.  She  would  not  keep  the  secret 
from  him  when  he  should  tell  her  the  motives  which  in- 
duced him  to  question  her.  Whether  she  refused  him  or 
not,  whether  she  was  or  was  not  engaged  to  another,  he 
would  of  course  be  entirely  frank  with  her,  only  regretting 
that  he  had  not  been  so  before.  He  was  whole-souled 
enough,  he  had  learned  at  least  this  much  of  self-abnega- 
tion, not  to  try  to  save  his  vanity  in  such  a  matter  as  lov- 
ing for  life.  As  the  most  loveable  woman  that  he  had 
ever  known,  it  was  due  to  her  that  she  should  be  informed 
that  his  heart  was  at  her  command,  no  matter  what  she 
mio;ht  do  with  it.  The  feelino-  of  the  moment  was  a 
grand  one,  but  not  beyond  the  native  power  of  his  char- 
acter, although  three  years  ago  he  had  not  been  sufficiently 
developed  to  be  capable  of  it. 

He  stepped  to  the  window,  pushed  apart  the  long 
damask  curtams  and  stood  by  her  side. 

"  Oh  !  Is  it  you  !"  she  exclaimed.  "  You  quite  startled 
me."  Then,  after  a  moment's  hesitation,  "  When  did  you 
come  in  ?" 

"  I  was  in  the  room  three  minutes  ago,"  he  answered, 
and  paused  to  draw  a  long  breath.  "  Tell  me,  Mrs.  Car- 
ter," he  resumed,  "  what  is  it  that  Mr.  Whitew^ood  is  to 
keep  secret  ?" 

"  Mr.  Colburne  !"  she  rei^lied,  full  of  astonishment  that 
he  should  put  such  a  question. 

"  I  did  not  overhear  intentionally,"  he  went  on.  "  I  did 
not  hear  much,  and  I  wish  to  know  more  than  I  heard." 

Mr.  Colburne  was  master  of  the  situation,  although  he 
was  not  aware  of  it.  Surprise  was  the  least  of  Lillie's 
emotions ;  she  was  quite  overwhelmed  by  her  lover's 
presence,  and  by  the  question  which  he  put  to  her ;  she 
could  not  have  declared  truly  at  the  moment  that  her  soul 
w^as  altogether  her  own. 

"  Oh,  Mr.  Colburne !  I  cannot  tell  you,"  w\as  all  she 
could  say,  and  that  in  a  whisper. 


510         Miss    Ravenel's     Conversion 

She  would  have  told  him  all,  if  he  had  insisted,  but  he 
did  not.  He  liad  manliness  enough,  he  was  sufficiently- 
able  to  affront  danger  and  suffering,  to  say  what  was  in 
liis  own  lieart,  ^^thout  knowing  what  had  passed  between 
her  and  his  rival.  He  stood  silent  a  moment,  j^ondering, 
not  over  his  purpose,  but  as  to  what  his  words  should  be. 
Then  flashed  across  him  a  suspicion  of  the  truth,  that 
Whitewood  had  made  his  venture  and  met  with  ship- 
wreck. A  wave  of  strong  hope  seemed  to  lift  him  over 
reefs  of  doubt,  and  shook  him  so,  like  a  ship  trembling  on 
a  billow,  that  for  an  instant  longer  he  could  not  sj^eak. 
Just  then  Rosann's  recognizable  Irish  voice  was  heard, 
'  calling,  "  Mrs.  Carter!  Mrs.  Carter!  Might  I  spake  t' 
ye?" 

"  What  is  it  ?"  asked  Lillie,  steppmg  by  Colburne  into 
the  parlor.  Ravvie  was  cutting  a  double  tooth,  was 
feverish  and  fretful,  and  she  had  been  anxious  about  him. 

"  Ma'am,  I'd  like  t'  have  ye  see  the  baby.  I'm  thinkm' 
he  ought  t'  have  somethrn'  done  for  'm.  He's  mightily 
worried." 

"Please  excuse  me,  Mr.  Colburne,"  said  the  mother,  and 
ran  up  stairs.  Thus  it  happened  that  Lillie  unintention- 
ally evaded  the  somewhat  remarkable  and  humiliating 
circumstance  of  receiving  two  declarations  of  love,  two 
offers  of  marriage,  in  a  single  evening.  She  did  not,  how- 
ever, know  precisely  what  it  was  that  she  had  escaped  ; 
and,  moreover,  she  did  not  at  first  think  much  about  it. 
except  in  a  very  fragmentary  and  unsatisfactory  manner  ; 
for  Ravvie  soon  went  into  convulsions  and  remained  in  a 
precarious  condition  the  whole  night,  absorbing  all  her 
time  and  attention.  Of  course  he  had  his  gums  lanced, 
and  his  chubby  feet  put  in  hot  water,  and  medicine  poured 
down  his  patient  throat.  In  the  morning  he  was  so  com- 
fortable that  his  mother  went  to  bed  and  slept  till  noon. 
When  she  awoke  and  found  Ravvie  quite  recovered,  and 
had  kissed  his  cheeks,  his  dimpled  neck,  and  the  fat  col- 
lops  in  his  legs  a  hundred  times  or  so,  and  called  him  her 


From    Secession    to    Loyalty.         511 

own  precious,  and  her  dearest  darling,  and  her  sweet  little 
man  at  every  kiss,  she  began  to  dress  herself  and  to  think ' 
of  Mr.  Colburne,  and  of  his  imexplamed  anxieties  to  say — 
what  ?  She  went  tremulously  to  dinner,  blushing  scarlet 
after  her  sensitive  manner  as  she  entered  the  dining-room, 
but  quite  unnecessarily,  inasmuch  as  he  was  not  at  table. 
She  could  not  say  whether  she  was  most  relieved  or  an- 
noyed by  his  unexpected  absence.  It  is  w- orthy  of  record 
that  before  tea-time  she  had  learned  through  some  round- 
about medium,  (Rosann  and  the  porter,  I  fear,)  that  Mr. 
Colburne  had  been  summoned  to  New  York  by  a  tele- 
gram and  was  not  expected  back  for  a  day  or  two.  Her 
father  was  away  on  a  mineralogical  hunt,  unearthing  bur- 
rows and  w^arrens  of  Smithites  and  Browmites.  Thus  she 
had  plenty  of  opportunity  for  reflection,  and  she  probably 
emj^loyed  it  as  well  as  most  young  w^omen  w^ould  under 
similar-circumstances,  but,  of  course,  to  no  purpose  at  all 
so  far  as  concerned  takmg  any  action.  In  such  matters  a 
woman  can  do  little  more  than  sit  still  while  others  trans- 
act her  history.  She  was  under  the  spell :  it  was  not  she 
who  would  control  her  own  fate  :  it  was  Mr.  Colburne. 
She  was  ashamed  and  almost  angry  to  find  that  she  was 
so  weak ;  she  declared  that  it  was  disgraceful  to  fall  in 
love  w^th  a  man  who  had  not  yet  told  her  plainly  that  he 
loved  her ;  but  all  her  shame,  and  anger,  and  declarations 
could  not  alter  the  stubborn  fact.  She  would  never  own 
it  to  any  one  else,  but  she  w^as  obliged  to  confess  it  to  her- 
self, although  the  avowal  made  her  cry  w^ith  vexation. 
She  had  to  remember,  too,  that  it  was  not  quite  two  years 
and  a  half  smce  she  was  married,  and  not  quite  eighteen 
months  since  she  had  become  a  widow.  She  walked 
through  a  valley  of  humiliation,  very  meek  in  spirit,  and 
yet,  it  must  be  confessed,  not  very  unhappy.  At  times 
she  defended  herself,  asking  the  honest  and  rational  ques- 
tion. How  could  she  help  loving  this  man  ?  He  had  been 
so  faithful  and  delicate,  he  was  so  brave  and  noble,  that 
she  wondered  that  every  woman  who  knew  him  did  not 


512         Miss     Rave  x  el's     Cox  version 

adore  him.  And  then,  as  she  thought  of  liis  perfections, 
she  went  tremblingly  back  to  the  inquiry,  Did  he  love  her? 
He  had  not  gone  so  far  as  to  say  it,  or  anything  approach- 
ing to  it ;  and  yet  he  surely  woukl  not  have  asked  her 
what  had  passed  between  another  man  and  herself  unless 
he  meant  to  lay  bare  to  her  his  uimost  heart ;  she  knew 
that  he  was  too  generously  delicate  to  demand  such  a 
confidence  except  T\dth  a  most  serious  and  tender  purpose. 
She  did  not  mdeed  suppose  that  he  would  have  gone  on 
then  to  say  everythmg  that  he  felt  for  her  ;  for  it  did  not 
seem  to  her  that  any  one  moment  which  she  could  fix 
upon  would  be  great  enough  for  such  a  revelation.  But 
it  would  have  come  in  time,  if  she  had  answered  him  suit- 
ably ;  it  might  come  yet,  if  she  had  not  offended  him,  and 
if  he  did  not  meet  some  one  whom  he  should  see  to  be 
more  desirable.  Had  she  offended  him  by  her  manner,  or 
by  what  she  had  said,  or  failed  to  say  ?  Oh,  how  easy  it 
is  to  suspect  that  those  Avhom  we  love  are  vexed  with  us  ! 
If  it  should  be  so  that  she  had  given  him  cause  of  ancrer, 
how  could  she  make  23eace  with  him  without  demeaning 
herself?  Well,  let  the  worst  come  to  the  worst,  there 
was  her  boy  who  would  always  be  faithful  and  loving. 
She  kissed  him  violently  and  repeatedly,  but  could  not 
keep  a  tear  or  two  from  fallmg  on  him,  although  why  they 
were  shed  the  child  could  have  explained  as  rationally  as 
she. 

Of  all  these  struggles  Colburne  knew  nothmg  and 
guessed  nothing.  He  too  had  his  yearnings  and  anxieties, 
although  he  did  not  express  them  by  kissing  anything  or 
crying  upon  anything.  He  was  sternly  fearful  lest  he  was 
losmg  all-ipiportant  moments,  and  he  attended  to  his  busi- 
ness in  New  York  as  energetically  as  he  would  have  stormed 
a  battery.  Had  he  offended  Mrs.  Carter  ?  Had  Whitewood 
succeeded,  or  failed,  or  not  tried  ?  He  could  not  answer 
any  of  these  questions,  but  he  was  in  a  fury  to  get  back 
to  New  Boston. 

Lillie  trembled  when  she  heard  his  knock  upon  the  door 


•  Feom    Secession    to    Loyalty.         513 

at  eight  o'clock  that  evening.  She  knew  it  was  his  by  in- 
stmct ;  she  had  known  it  two  or  three  times  during  the 
day  when  it  was  only  a  servant's ;  but  at  last  she  was 
right  in  her  divination.  She  was  trying  at  the  moment 
to  write  a  letter  to  her  father,  T\4th  the  door  open  into  her 
bed-room,  where  Ravvie  sat  imder  the  benign  spectacles 
of  Rosann.  In  answer  to  her  "  Come  in,"  Colburne  en- 
tered, looking  pale  with  want  of  sleep,  for  he  had  worked 
nights  and  travelled  days. 

"  I  am  so  glad  you  have  come  back,"  she  said  in  her 
frank  way. 

"  And  I  am  so  glad  to  get  back,"  he  replied,  dropping 
wearily  into  an  easy  chair.  "  ^7hen  does  your  father  re- 
turn ?" 

"  I  don't  know.  He  told  me  to  write  to  him  at  Spring- 
field until  I  got  word  to  stop." 

Colburne  Avas  pleased  ;  the  Doctor  would  not  be  at  home 
for  a  day  or  two ;  that  would  give  him  other  opportunities 
in  case  this  one  should  result  in  a  failure.  The  little  parlor 
looked  more  formidable  than  the  balcony,  and  the  glare  of  the 
gas  was  not  so  encouraging  as  the  mellow  moonlight.  He 
did  not  feel  sure  how  he  should  be  able  to  speak  here, 
where  she  could  see  every  working  of  his  countenance. 
He  did  not  know  that  from  the  moment  he  began  to  speak 
of  the  subject  which  filled  his  heart  she  would  not  be  able 
to  look  him  in  the  face  until  after  she  had  promised  to  be 
his  "altogether  and  forever. 

TTomen  always  will  talk  at  such  times.  They  seem  to 
dread  to  be  caught,  and  to  know  that  silence  is  a  danger- 
ous trap  for  the  feelings ;  and  consequently  they  prattle 
about  anything,  no  matter  what,  provided  the  i^rattle  will 
prolong  the  time  during  which  the  hunter  is  in  chase. 

"  You  look  quite  worn  out  with  your  journey,"  she  said. 
"  I  should  think  you  had  made  a  forced  march  to  IN'ew 
York  and  back  on  foot." 

"  I  have  been  under  the  necessity  of  working  nights," 
he  answered,  without  tellinor  her  that  it  was  the  desire  to 

Y2      ^ 


514  Miss    Raven  el's     Conversion 

return  as  quickly  as  j^ossible  to  her  which  had  constituted 
the  forcing  power. 

"  You  shouldn't  do  it.  You  will  wear  yourself  down 
again,  as  you  did  in  field  service." 

"  Xo.  There  are  no  privations  here  ;  no  hunger,  and  no 
food  more  unwholesome  than  hungjer  ;  no  suffering:  with 
cold ;  no  malaria.  If  I  fall  sick  here,  it  will  only  be  with 
living  too  well,  and  having  too  easy  a  time.  Somebody 
says  that  death  is  a  disgrace ;  that  man  ought  to  be  ashamed 
of  himself  for  dying.  I  am  inclined  to  admit  it,  unless  the 
man  is  m  field  service.  In  field  service  I  have  suffered 
keenly  now  and  then,  so  as  to  become  babyish  about  it, 
and  think  of  you  and  how  glad  you  would  be  to  give  me 
somethmg  to  eat." 

She  made  no  reply,  except  to  look  at  him  steadily  for  a 
moment,  admirmg  what  seemed  to  her  the  heroism  of 
speaking  so  lightly  of  hardships. 

"  You  see  I  confided  strongly  in  your  kindness,"  he  re- 
sumed.    "  I  do  so  still." 

The  color  flooded  her  face  and  neck  as  she  divined  from 
his  manner  that  he  was  about  to  resume  the  conversation 
of  the  barlcony.  He  rose,  walked  to  the  door  which  led 
into  the  bed-room,  closed  it  gently  and  came  back.  She 
could  not  speak  nor  raise  her  eyes  to  his  face  as  he  stood 
before  her.  If  he  had  kept  silence  for  a  few  moments  she 
would  probably  have  recovered  herself  and  said,  "  Won't 
you  sit  down,"  or  some  such  insanity..  But  he  did  not 
give  her  time  for  that ;  he  took  one  of  her  hands  in  both 
of  his  and  said,  "  Lillie  !" 

There  was  a  question  m  the  tone,  but  she  could  not  an- 
swer it  except  by  suddenly  raising  her  other  hand  to  her 
face,  as  if  to  hide  the  confession  which  was  glowing  there. 

"  You  know  that  I  have  loved  you  four  years,"  he  went 
on,  bending  down  to  her  and  whispermg. 

She  never  knew  how  it  was  that  she  found  herself  a 
moment  afterwards  on  her  feet,  leaning  against  his  breast, 
with  her  head  on  his  shoulder,  sobbing,  trembling,  but  full 


Fkom    Secession     to    Loyalty.        515 

of  joy.  The  man  whom  she  ought  always  to  have  loved, 
the  man  whom  she  now  did  love  with  the  whole  strength 
of  her  being,  whom  she  could  trust  perfectly  and  forever, 
had  claimed  her  as  his,  and  she  had  resigned  herself  to 
him,  not  desiring  to  reserve  a  drop  of  her  blood  or  a 
thought  of  her  soul.  Xothing  could  separate  them  but 
death  ;  nothing  could  make  them  unhappy  but  losing  each 
other :  for  the  moment  there  Avas  nothing  in  the  world 
but  they  two  and  their  love.  After  a  time — it  might  have 
been  five  minutes,  or  half  an  hour — she  remembered — 
positively  recollected  with  a  start — that  she  had  a  child. 

"  Come  and  see  him,"  she  said.  "  Come  and  look  at 
our  boy." 

She  caught  him  by  the  arm,  and  dragged  him,  willing 
to  go,  into  the  room  where  Ravvie  lay  asleep.  She  never 
thought  of  her  flushed  face  and  disordered  hair,  although 
Rosann's  spectacles  were  fixed  upon  her  ^ith  an  astonish- 
ment which  seemed  to  enlarge  their  silver-bound  orbits. 

"  Isn't  he  beautiful !"  she  whispered.  "  He  is  yours — 
mine — ours." 

Kosann  gavcher  head  a  toss  of  comprehension  and  sat- 
isfaction in  which  I  heartily  join  her,  as  does  also,  I  hope, 
the  reader. 

Colburne  and  then  Lillie  kissed  the  child — all  uncon- 
scious of  the  love  which  was  lavished  on  him,  which  filled 
the  room,  and  was  copious  enough  to  fill  lives. 

It  had  all  come  like  a  great  surprise  to  Lillie.  As  much 
as  she  may  have  desired  it,  as  much  as  she  may  have 
hoped  it  m  moments  for  which  she  reproached  herself  at 
the  time  as  absurd  and  almost  immodest,  it  nevertheless  de- 
scended upon  her,  this  revelation,  with  wings  of  dazzling 
astonishment.  In  the  night  she  awoke  to  disbelieve,  and 
then  to  remember  all  with  a  joyful  faith.  And  while  think- 
ing it  over,  in  a  delicious  reverie  which  could  not  justly 
be  called  thought,  but  rather  a  thrilling  succession  of 
recollections  and  sentiments,  there  came  to  her  among  the 
multitude  of  impressions  a  wonder  at  her  own  happiness. 


516        Miss    Rate  x  el's     Co  x  ye  k  sign 

She  seemed  with  amazement  to  see  herself  in  double :  the 
one  figure  -svidowed  and  weeping,  seated  amid  the  tombs 
of  perished  hopes :  the  other  also  widowed  in  garb,  but 
about  to  put  on  garments  of  bridal  white,  and  with  a 
face  which  lit  up  the  darkness. 

"  How  can  it  be  !"  she  exclaimed  aloud,  as  she  remem- 
bered the  despair  of  eighteen  months  ago.  Then  she 
added,  smilmg  with  a  delicious  consciousness  of  justifica- 
tion, "  Oh  !  I  love  him  better  than  I  ever  loved  any  other. 
I  am  right  in  loving  him." 

After  that  she  commended  the  once-loved  one,  who  was 
dead,  to  Heaven's  pity — and  then  prayed  long  and  fer- 
vently for  the  newly  loved  one  who  was  living — but 
brokenly,  too,  and  stopping  now  and  then  to  smile  at  his 
bright  image  painted  on  the  niglit.  Last  came  a  prayer 
for  her  child,  whom  she  might  have  forgotten  in  these 
passionate  emotions,  only  that  she  could  hear  his  gentle 
breathiug  through  the  quiet  midnight. 

"  I  wonder  how  you  can  love  me  so,  when  I  kept  you 
so  long  away  from  me,"  she  said  to  Colbume  at  their  next 
meeting.  ^ 

"  You  are  all  the  dearer  for  it,"  he  answered.  "  Yes, 
even  because  another  stood  for  a  long  time  between  us, 
you  are  all  the  dearer.  Perhaps  it  ought  not  to  be  so ; 
but  so  it  is,  my  darling." 

Her  gratitude  was  uttered  in  a  silent,  fervent  pressure 
of  her  lips  against  his  cheek.  These  were  the  only  words 
that  passed  between  them  concerning  her  first  marriage. 

"  Where  are  we  to  live  ?"  he  asked.  "  Do  you  want  to 
LTO  back  to  Xew  Orleans  ?" 

"  Oh,  never !"  she  replied.  "  Always  at  the  Xorth  !  I 
like  it  so  much  better  !" 

She  was  williag  at  all  times  now  to  make  confession  of 
her  conversion. 


Fkom    Secession    to    Loy^^lty.      517 


CHAPTER  XXXVn. 

A  MAEKIAGE. 

Doctor  Rayexel  was  delighted  when  Lillie,  blushing 
monstrously  and  with  one  arm  around  his  neck,  and  her 
face  at  first  a  little  behind  his  shoulder,  confided  to  him 
the  new  revelation  which  had  made  her  life  doubly  pres- 
cious. 

"  I  never  was  more  happy  smce  I  came  into  the  world, 
my  dear,"  he  said.  "  I  am  entirely  satisfied.  I  do  most 
heartily  return  thanks  for  this.  I  believe  that  now  your 
happiness  and  well-being  are  assured,  so  far  as  they  can 
be  by  any  human  circumstance.  He  ls  the  noblest  youno- 
man  that  I  ever  knew." 

"  Shall  I  send  him  to  you  to  implore  your  consent  ?" 
she  asked  roguishly.  "  Do  you  want  a  chance  to  dom- 
ineer over  him  ?" 

The  Doctor  laughed  outright'  at  the  absurdity  of  the 
idea. 

"  I  feel,"  said  he,  "  as  though  I  ought  to  ask  his  consent. 
I  ought  to  apologize  to  the  municipar  authorities  for  taking 
the  finest  fellow  in  the  city  away  from  the  young  ladies 
of  native  birth.  Seriously,  my  dear  child,  you  will  have 
to  try  hard  in  order  to  be  good  enough  for  him." 

"  Go  away,"  answered  Lillie  with  a  little  push.  "  Papas 
are  the  most  ungrateful  of  all  human  bemgs.  Well,  if  I 
am  not  good  enough,  there  is  Ravvie,  and  you.  I  throw 
you  both  in  to  make  it  an  even  bargain." 

It  was  soon  decided  that  the  marriage  should  take  pla<?e 
early  in  September.  Lillie  had  never  had  a  long  engao-e- 
ment,  and  did  not  now  specially  care  for  one,  beino- 
therein,  I  understand,  similar  to  most  widows  when  they 
are  once  persuaded  to  exchange  their  mourning  for  bridal 
attire.     Men  never  like  that  period  of  expectation,  and 


518         Miss    Raven  el's     Cox  version 

Colbiirne  urged  an  early  day  for  his  inauguration  as 
monarch  of  a  heart  and  household.  His  family  homestead, 
just  now  tenantless,  was  made  fine  by  the  application  of 
much  paint  and  wall-paper,  and  the  introduction  of  half-a- 
dozen  new  articles  of  furniture.  Lillie  and  he  visited  it 
nearly  every  day  during  their  brief  betrothal,  usually 
accompanied  by  Ravvie  in  the  wicker  baby-wagon,  and 
were  very  happy  in  dressing  up  the  neglected  garden,  ar- 
ranging and  re-arranging  the  chairs,  and  tables,  and  plan- 
ninor  how  the  rooms  should  be  distributed  amongr  the 
family.  To  the  Doctor  was  assigned  the  best  front  bed- 
room, and  to  the  Smithites  and  Brownites,  etc.,  an  adjoming 
closet  of  abundant  dimensions. 

"Ravvie  and  Rosann  shall  have  the  back  chamber," 
said  Lillie,  "  so  that  Ravvie  can  look  out  on  the  garden 
and  be  away  from  the  dust  of  the  street.  I  am  so  de- 
lighted that  the  little  fellow  is  at  last  to  have  a  garden 
and  flowers.  You  and  I  will  take  the  other  front  bed- 
room, next  to  papa's." 

Here  she  colored  at  her  own  frankness,  and  hurried  on 
to  other  dispositions. 

"  That  will  leave  us  two  little  rooms  for  servants  up 
stairs  ;  and  down  stairs  we  shall  -have  a  parlor,  and  dming- 
room,  and  kitchen ;  we  shall  fairly  lose  ourselves.  How 
much  pleasanter  than  a  hotel !" 

Colburne  had  noticed  her  blush  with  a  sense  of  pleasure 
and  triumph ;  but  he  was  generous  enough  and  delicate 
enough  to  s^^are  her  any  allusion  to  it. 

"  You  have  left  no  place  for  friends,"  he  merely  observed. 

"  Oh,  but  we  mustn't  entertam  much,  for  a  while.  We 
— you — cannot  afford  it.  I  have  be^n  catechising  Mrs. 
Whitewood  about  the  cost  of  meat  and  things.  Prices 
are  dreadful." 

After  a  little  pause  she  broke  out,  "  Oh,  won't  it  be  de- 
lightful to  have  a  house,  and  garden,  and  flowers  !  Rav- 
vie will  be  so  happy  here  !  We  shall  all  be  so  happy  !  I 
can't  think  of  anything  else." 


Feo:si    Secession    to    Loyalty.        519 

"  And  you  don't  want  a  wedding  tour  ?" 

"  Oh  yes  !  I  do  want  it.  But,  my  darling,  you  cannot 
aftbrd  it.  You  must  not  tempt  me.  We  will  have  the 
wedding  tour  five  years  hence,  when  we  come  to  celebrate 
our  wooden  wedding.     Then  you  will  be  rich,  perhaps." 

The  grand  ceremony  which  legalized  and  ratified  all 
these  arrangements  took  place  at  five  o'clock  in  the  after- 
noon in  the  little  church  of  St.  Joseph,  The  city  being 
yet  small  enough  to  feel  a  decided  interest  in  the  private 
afiairs  of  any  noted  citizen,  a  crowd  of  uninvited  spectators 
collected  to  witness  the  marriage  of  the  popular  young 
captain  with  the  widow  of  the  lamented  Union  General. 
Stories  of  how  the  father  had  given  up  his  all  for  the  sake 
of  the  Republic,  how  Colburne  had  single-handed  saved 
Mrs.  Carter  from  a  brigade  of  Texans,  and  how  the  dying 
General  had  bequeathed  the  care  of  his  family  to  the  Cap- 
tain on  the  field  of  victory,  circulated  among  the  lookers 
on  and  inflamed  them  to  an  enthusiasm  which  exhibited  it- 
self in  a  violent  waving  of  handkerchief  as  the  little  bridal 
party  came  out  of  the  church  and  drove  homeward.  Since 
New  Boston  was  founded  no  other  nuptials  had  been  so 
celebrated,  if  we  may  believe  the  oldest  inhabitant. 

At  last  Colburne  had  his  wife,  and  his  wife  had  her 
home.  For  the  last  four  years  they  have  sailed  separately 
over  stormy  seas,  but  now  they  are  in  a  quiet  haven, 
united  so  long  as  life  shall  last. 

It  grieves  me  to  leave  this  young  woman  thus  on  -the 
threshold  of  her  history.  Here  she  is,  at  twenty- three, 
with  but  one  child,  and  only  at  her  second  husband.  Two- 
thirds  of  her  years  and  heart  history  are  probably  before 
her.  Women  are  most  interesting  at  thirty  :  tten  only  do 
they  in  general  enter  upon  their  full  bloom,  physical, 
moral  and  intellectual :  then  only  do  they  attain  their 
highest  charm  as  members  of  society.  But  a  sense  of 
artistic  fitness,  derived  from  a  belief  that  now  she  has  a 
sure  start  in  the  voyage  of  happmess,  compels  me  to  close 
the  biography  of  my  heroine  at  her  marriage  with  my 


520         Miss    R  a  vex  el's     Cox  version 

favorite,  Mr.  Colburne.  Moreover,  it  will  be  perceived 
that,  if  1  continue  her  story,  I  shall  have  to  do  it  through 
the  medium  of  prophecy,  which  might  give  it  an  air  of  im- 
probability to  the  reader,  besides  leading  me  to  assume 
certaui  grave  responsibilities,  such,  for  instance,  as  decid- 
ing the  next  presidential  election  T^ithout  vraiting  for  the 
verdict  of  the  people. 

We  need  have  no  fears  about  the  prospects  of  Colburne. 
It  is  true  that  durmg  his  military  career  luck  has  been 
agamst  him,  and  he  has  not  received  promotion  although 
he  deserved  it ;  but  his  disappomtment  in  not  obtainmg 
great  military  glory  will  finally  give  strength  to  his 
charactei*  and  secure  to  him  perfect  manliness  and  success. 
It  has  taken  down  his  false  pride,  and  taught  him  to  use 
means  for  ends  ;  moreover,  it  will  preserve  him  from  being 
enfeebled  by  a  dropsy  of  vanity.  Had  he  been  mustered 
out  of  service  as  a  Brigadier-General  of  volunteers,  he 
might  possibly  have  disdained  the  small  begmnmgs  of  a 
law  busmess,  demanded  a  foreign  consulate  or  home  col- 
lectorship,  and  became  a  State  pauper  for  life.  As  it  is, 
he  will  stand  on  his  own  base,  which  is  a  broad  and  solid 
one ;  and  the  men  around  him  will  have  no  advantage 
over  him,  except  so  far  as  their  individual  bases  are  better 
than  his ;  for  in  civilian  life  there  is  no  rank,  nor  seniority, 
and  the  close  corporation  of  political  cabal  has  little  in- 
fluence. ■  The  chivalrous  sentiment  which  would  not  let 
him  beg  for  promotion  will  show  forth  in  a  resolute  self- 
reliance  and  an  incorruptible  honor,  which  in  the  long  run 
will  be  to  his  outward  advantage.  His  responsibilities 
will  take  all  dreaminess  out  of  him,  and  make  him  practi- 
cal, industrious,  able  to  arrive  at  results.  His  courage 
will  prolong  his  health,  and  his  health  will  be  used  in 
eflective  labor.  He  has  the  patience  of  a  soldier,  and  a 
soldier's  fortitude  under  discouragement.  He  is  a  better 
and  stronger  man  for  having  fought  three  years,  out-facing 
death  and  sufliering.  Like  the  nation,  he  has  developed, 
and  learned  his  powers.     Possessing  more  physical  and 


From    Secession    to    Loyalty.         521 

intellectual  vigor  than  is  merely  necessary  to  exist,  he  will 
succeed  in  the  duties  of  life,  and  control  other  men's  lives, 
labors,  opinions,  successes.  '  It  is  greatly  to  his  honor,  it 
is  a  sure  promise  of  his  future,  that  he  understands  his 
seeming  failure  as  a  soldier,  and  is  not  discouraged  by  it, 
but  takes  hold  of  the  next  thing  to  do  wiih.  confident 
energy. 

He  is  the  soldier  citizen :  he  could  face  the  flame  of  bat- 
tle for  his  country :  he  can  also  earn  his  own  living.  He 
could  leave  his  ofiice-chair  to  march  and  fight  for  three 
years ;  and  he  can  return  to  peaceful  industry,  as  ennobling 
as  his  fighting. 

It  is  in  millions  of  such  men  that  the  strength  of  the  Re- 
public consists. 

As  for  his  domestic  history,  I  think  that  we  need  have 
no  terrors  either  for  his  happiness  or  that  of  Mrs.  Colburne. 

"  I  don't  see  but  that  you  get  along  very  well  together," 
said  the  Doctor,  addressing  the  young  couple,  a  week,  or 
so  after  the  marriage.  "  I  really  don't  see  why  I  can't 
hereafter  devote  myself  exclusively  to  my  Brownites  and 
Robinsonites." 

"  Papa,"  answered  Lillie,  "  I  never  felt  so  near  saying 
that  I  could  spare  you." 

Colbux-ne  listened,  haj^pily  smiling,  conscious  of  a  loved 
and  loving  wife,  of  a  growing  balance  in  bank,  of  sur- 
roundings wliich  he  would  not  have  exchanged  for  a  fiaid 
of  victory. 


THE      END. 


J/r.  ilotley,  the  American  Mstonan  of  the  United  Xetherlands—we  owe  Mm 
English  hoynage.—Lo^ivo^  Times. 

*Ms  interesting  as  a  romance^  and  as  reliable  as  a  2}roposition  of  Etu;lid." 


History  of 
The  United  Netherlands. 

FBOM    THE   HEATH   OF    WILLIAM    THE    SILE>'T   TO   THE    SYNOD   OF   DOET.       MTTII   A 

FULL  YIEW   OF   THE   EXGLISU-DCTCH   STKUGGLE   AGAINST   SPAIN,   AND 

OF   THE   OEIGLN-    ANT)   DESTEUCTION    OF   THE   SPANISH 

AliMADA. 

By  JOHN  LOTHROP  MOTLEY,  LL.D.,  D.C.L., 

Corresponding  Member  of  the  Institute  of  France,  Author  of  "The  Rise  of  tlie 
Dutch  Republic." 

With  Portraits  and  Map. 

2  vols.  Svo,  Muslin,  $6  00. 

Critical  Sotices. 
His  living  and  truthful  picture  of  events.— Qtiarterly  Revieic  (London),  Jan., 

Fertile  as  the  present  age  has  been  in  historical  works  of  the  highest  merit, 
none  of  them  can  be  ranked  above  these  volumes  in  the  grand  qualities  of  interest, 
accuracv,  and  truth.— EdinMirgh  Quarterly  Review,  Jan.,  1S61. 

This  noble  v;ov^.— Westminster  Rivieic  (London). 

One  of  thg  most  fascinating  as  well  as  important  histories  of  the  century — Cor. 
y.  V.  Evening  Post. 

The  careful  study  of  these  volumes  will  infallibly  afford  a  feast  both  rich  and 
TfxTe.—BaUiniore  Rejmblican. 

Already  takes  a  rank  among  standard  works  of  history London  Critic. 

Mr.  Motley's  prose  epic. — London  Spectator. 

Its  pages  are  pregnant  with  instruction.— LoncZoji  Literanj  Gazette. 

We  may  profit  by  almost  ^-ery  page  of  his  narrative.  All  the  topics  which  agi- 
tate us  now  are  more  or  less  vividly  presented  in  the  History  of  the  United  Xether- 
land=!.— >V<.'i(;  York  Times. 

Bears  on  every  page  marks  of  the  same  vigorous  mind  that  produced  "The  Rise 
of  the  Dutch  Republic;"  but  the  new  work  is  riper,  mellower,  and  though  equally 
racv  of  the  soil,  softer  flavored.  The  inspiring  idea  which  breathes  through  Mr. 
Motley's  histories  and  colors  the  whole  texture  of  his  naiTative,  is  the  grandeur  of 
that  memorable  struggle  in  the  16th  century  by  which  the  human  mind  broke  the 
thraldom  of  religiouslntoleranc 3  and  achieved  its  independence — The  World,  N.  Y. 

The  name  of  Motley  now  stands  in  the  verv  front  rank  of  living  historians.  His 
Dutch  Reimllic  took  the  world  bv  surprise  ;  but  the  favorable  verdict  then  given 
is  now  only  the  more  deliberately  confirmed  on  the  publication  of  the  continued 
story  under  the  title  of  the  His^orv  of  the  United  yetherlnnds.  All  the  nerve, 
and  power,  and  substance  of  juicy  life  are  there,  lending  a  charm  to  every  page.— 
Church  Journal,  X.  Y. 

Motlev,  indeed,  has  produced  a  prose  epic,  and  his  fighting  scenes  are  as  real, 
spirited,"  and  life-like  as  the  combats  in  the  Iliad — The  Press  (Phila.). 

His  history  is  as  interesting  as  a  romance,  and  as  reliable  as  a  proposition  of  Eu- 
clid. Clio  never  had  a  more  faithful  disciple.  "\Ve  advise  every  reader  whose 
means  will  permit  to  become  the  owner  of  these  fascinating  volumes,  assuring  him 
that  he  will  never  regret  the  investment — Christian  Intelligencer,  X.  Y. 

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It  was  once  said  of  a  very  charming  and  high-minded  woman  that  to  know  her 
was  in  itself  a  liberal  education ;  and  we  are  inclined  to  set  an  almost  equally 
high  value  on  an  acquaintance  with  the  writings  of  "George  Eliot."  For  those 
who  read  them  aright  they  possess  the  faculty  of  educating  in  its  highest  sense, 
of  invigorating  the  intellect,  giving  a  healthy  tone  to  the  taste,  appealing  to  the 
nobler  feelings  of  the  heart,  training  its  impulses  aright,  and  awakening  or  de- 
veloping in  every  mind  the  consciousness  of  a  craving  for  something  higher  than 
the  pleasures  ancl  rewards  of  that  life  which  only  the  senses  realize^the  belief  in 
a  destiny  of  a  nobler  nature  than  can  be  grasped  by  experience  or  demonstrated 
by  argument.  On  those  readers  who  are  able  to  appreciate  a  lofty  independence 
of  thought,  a  rare  nobility  of  feeling,  and  an  exquisite  sympathy  with  the-joys 
and  sorrows  of  himian  nature,  "George  Eliot's"  writings  can  not  "fail  to  exert  an 
invigorating  and  purifying  influence,  "the  good  effects  of  which  leaves  behind  it 
a  lasting  impression.— Lo/irfou  Review. 

"George  Eliot,"  or  whoever  he  or  she  may  be,  has  a  wonderful  power  in  giv- 
ing an  air  of  intense  reality  to  whatever  scene  is  presented,  whatever  character 
is  portrayed. — Worcester  Palladium. 

She  resembles  Shakspeare  in  her  power  of  delineation.  It  is  from  this  char- 
acteristic action  on  the  part  of  each  of  the  members  of  the  dramatis  personcB  that 
we  feel  not  only  an  interest,  even  and  consistent  thr»ughout,  but  also  an  admira- 
tion for  "  George  Eliot"  above  all  other  writers. — Philadelphia  Eveni)uj  Telearaph. 

Few  women— no  living  woman  indeed— have  so  much  strength  as  "George 
Eliot,"  and,  more  than  that,  she  never  allows  it  to  degenerate  into  coarseness. 
With  all  her  so-called  "  masculine"  ^^gor,  she  has  a  feminine  tenderness,  which 
is  nowhere  shown  more  plainly  than  in  her  descriptions  of  children,— jBo6^ou 
Transeri2}t. 

She  looks  out  upon  the  world  with  the  most  entire  enjoyment  of  all  the  good 
that  there  is  in  it  to  enjoy,  and  with  an  enlarged  compassion  for  all  the  ill  that 
there  is  in  it  to  pity.  But  she  never  either  whimpers  over  the  sorrowful  lot  of 
man,  or  snarls  and  chuckles  over  his  follies  and  littlenesses  and  impotence.— 
Sattirday  Revieiv. 

Her  acquaintance  with  different  phases  of  outward  life,  and  the  power  of  an- 
alyzing feeling  and  the  working  of  the  mind,  are  alike  wonderful.— iicafZ<'r. 

"George  Eliot's"  novels  belong  to  the  enduring  literature  of  our  country — 
durable,  not  for  the  fashionableness  of  its  pattern,  but  for  the  texture  of  its  stuff. 
— Examiner. 


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THE   RISE   OF 
THE    DUTCH    REPUBLIC. 

By  JOHN  LOTHEOP  MOTLEY. 

New  Edition.     With  a  Portrait  of  Williaji  of  Orange.     3  vols. 
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"We  regard  this  Avork  as  the  best  contribution  to  modem  history  that  has  yet 
been  made  by  an  American. — Methodist  Quarterly  Review.  • 

The  "History  of  the  Dutch  Republic"  is  a  great  gift  to  us;  but  the  heart  and 
earnestness  that  beat  through  all  its  pages  are  greater,  for  they  give  us  most 
timely  inspiration  to  vindicate  the  true  ideas  of  our  country,  and  to  compose  an 
able  history  of  our  own. — Christian  Examiner  (Boston). 

This  work  bear*  on  its  face  the  evidences  of  scholarship  and  research.  Tha 
aiTangement  is  clear  and  effective;  the  style  energetic,  lively,  and  often  brilliant 
»  *  *  Mr.  Motley's  instructive  volumes  will,  we  trust,  have  a  circulation  commen- 
surate with  their  interest  and  \a.\uQ.— Protestant  Episcopal  Quarterly  Review. 

To  the  illustration  of  this  most  interesting  period  Mr.  Motley  has  brought  the 
matured  powers  of  a' vigorous  and  brilliant  mind,  and  the  abundant  fruits  of  pa- 
tient and  judicious  study  and  deep  reflection.  The  result  is,  one  of -the  most 
important  contributions  to  historical  literature  that  have  been  made  in  this  coun- 
try.—Xorth  American  Review. 

"VVe  would  conclude  this  notice  by  earnestly  recommending  our  readers  to  pro- 
cure for  themselves  this  truly  great  and  admirable  work,  by  the  production  of 
which  the  auther  has  conferred  no  less  honor  upon  his  country  than  he  has  -won 
praise  and  fame  for  himself,  and  than  which,  we  can  assure  them,  thev  can  find 
nothing  more  attractive  or  interesting  within  the  compass  of  modern  literature. 
— Evangelical  Review. 

It  is  not  often  that  we  have  the  pleasure  of  commending  to  the  attention  of  the 
lover  of  books  a  work  of  such  extraordinary  aud  unexceptionable  excellence  as 
this  one. — Universalist  Quarlerlij  Review. 

There  are  an  elevation  and  a  classic  polish  in  these  volumes,  and  a  felicity  of 
grouping  and  of  portraiture,  which  invest  the  subject  with  the  attractions  of  a 
living  and  stirring  episode  in  the  grand  historic  drama.— Sotrf/iern  Methodist 
Quarterly  Revieic. 

The  author  writes  with  a  genial  glow  and  love  of  his  suhject— Presbyterian 
Quarterly  Revieio. 

Mr.  Motley  is  a  sturdy  Republican  and  a  hearty  Protestant  His  style  is  live- 
ly and  picturesque,  and  his  work  is  an  honor  and  an  important  accession  to  our 
national  literature. — Church  Revieic. 

Mr.  Motley's  work  is  an  important  one,  the  result  of  profound  research,  sincere 
convictions,  sound  principles,  and  manlv  sentiments;  and  even  those  who  are 
most  familiar  with  the  history  of  the  period  will  find  in  it  a  fresh  and  vivid  ad- 
dition to  their  previous  knowledge.  It  does  honor  to  American  literature,  and 
\7ould  do  honor  to  the  literature  of  any  country  in  the  v,'0Tld.—Edi7iburQh  Re- 
view. 

A  serious  chasm  in  English  historical  literature  has  been  (by  this  book)  very 
remarkably  filled.  *  *  *  A  history  as  complete  as  industry  and  genius  can  make 
it  now  lies  before  us,  of  the  first  twenty  years  of  the  revolt  of  the  United  Prov- 
inces, *  *  *  All  the  essentials  of  a  great  writer  Mr.  Motley  eminently  possesses. 
His  mind  is  broad,  his  industry  unwearied.  In  power  of  dramatic  desci-iptioa 
no  modem  historian,  except,  perhaps,  Mr.  Carlyle,  surnasses  him,  and  in  analy- 
sis of  character  he  is  elaborate  and  distinct.— Westminster  Reiiew. 


a    MOTLEY'S  RISE  OF  THE  DUTCH  KEPUBLia 

It  is  a  work  of  real  historical  value,  the  result  of  accurate  criticism,  ■written 
in  a  liberal  spirit,  and  from  first  to  last  deeply  interesting.— ^(/icnopum. 

The  style  is  excellent,  clear,  vivid,  eloquent;  and  the  industry  with  which 
original  sources  have  been  investigated,  and  through  which  new  light  has  been 
6hed  over  perplexed  incidents  and  characters,  entitles  Mr.  Motley  to  a  liigh  rank 
in  the  literature  of  an  age  peculiarly  rich  in  history.— Sorth  British  Review. 

It  abounds  in  new  information,  and,  as  a  first  work,  commands  a  very  cordial 
recognition,  not  merely  of  the  promise  it  gives,  but  of  the  extent  and  importance 
of  the  labor  actually  performed  on  it. — London  Examiner. 

Mr.  Motley's  "History"  is  a  work  of  which  any  country  might  be  proud. — 
Press  (London). 

Mr.  Motley's  History  will  be  a  standard  book  of  reference  in  historical  litera- 
tuTQ.— London  Literary  Gazette. 

Mr.  Motley  has  searched  the  whole  range  of  historical  documents  necessary  to 
the  composition  of  his  work. — London  Leader. 

This  is  really  a  great  work.  It  belongs  to  the  class  of  books  in  which  we 
range  our  Grotes,  Milmans,  Merivales,  and  Macaulays,  as  the  glories  of  English 
literature  in  the  department  of  history.  *  *  *  Mr.  Slotley's  gifts  as  a  historical 
writer  are  among  the  highest  and  rarest. — Nonconformi-it  (London). 

Mr.  Motley's  volumes  will  well  repay  perusal.  *  *  *  For  his  learning,  his  liberal 
tone,  and  his  generous  enthusiasm,  we  he^irtily  commend  him,  and  bid  him  good 
speed  for  the  remainer  of  his  interesting  and  heroic  narrative. — Saturday  Review. 

The  story  is  a  noble  one,  and  is  worthily  treated.  *  *  *  Mr.  Motley  has  had  the 
patience  to  unravel,  with  unfailing  perseverance,  the  thousand  intricate  plots  of 
the  adversaries  of  the  Prince  of  Orange  ;  but  the  details  and  the  literal  extracts 
which  he  has  derived  from  original  documents,  and  transferred  to  his  pages, 
give  a  truthful  color  and  a  picturesque  eflfect,  which  are  especially  charming. — 
London  Daily  News.  » 

M.  Lothrop  Motley  dans  son  magnifique  tableau  de  la  formation  de  notre  R6- 
publique. — G.  Geoen  Van  Peinsteeee. 

Our  accomplished  countryman,  Mr.  J.  Lothrop  Motley,  who,  during  the  last 
five  years,  for  the  better  prosecution  of  his  labors,  has  established  his  residence 
in  the  neighborhood  of  the  scenes  of  his  narrative.  No  one  acquainted  with  the 
fine  powers  of  mind  possessed  by  this  scholar,  and  the  earnestness  with  which  he 
has  devoted  himself  to  the  task,  can  doubt  that  he  will  do  full  justice  to  his  im- 
portant but  difficult  subject. — W.  H.  Peescott. 

The  production  of  such  a  work  as  this  astonishes,  while  it  gratifies  the  pride 
of  the  American  reader.— X  Y.  Observer. 

The  "Rise  of  the  Dutch  Republic"  at  once,  and  by  acclamation,  takes  its 
place  by  the  "  Decline  and  Fall  of  the  Roman  Empire,"  as  a  work  which,  wheth- 
er for  research,  substance,  or  style,  will  never  be  superseded.— xV.  Y.  Albion. 

A  work  upon  which  all  who  read  the  English  language  may  congratulate 
themselves. — JVetc  Yorker  Handels  Zeitung. 

Mr.  Motley's  place  is  now  (alluding  to  this  book)  with  Hallam  and  Lord  Ma- 
hon,  Alison  and  Macaulay  in  the  Old  Countiy,  and  with  Washington  Irving, 
Prescott,  and  Bancroft  in  this.— JV!  1".  Times. 

The  authority,  in  the  English  tongue,  for  the  history  of  the  period  and  people 
to  which  it  refers.— JV.  Y.  Courier  and  Unquircr. 

This  work  at  once  places  the  author  on  the  list  of  American  historians  which 
has  been  so  signally  illustrated  by  the  names  of  Irving,  Prescott,  Bancroft,  and 
Hildreth. — Boston  Times. 

The  work  is  a  noble  one,  ?\nd  a  most  desirable  acquisition  to  our  historical  lit- 
erature.—3/o6iZe  Advertiser. 

Such  a  work  is  an  honor  to  its  author,  to  his  country,  and  to  the  age  in  which 
it  was  written. — Ohio  Farmer. 

Published  hy  HARPER  S  BROTHERS, 

Franklin  Square,  Kew  York, 


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That  tender  pathos,  which  could  sink  so  deep— that  gentle  huraor,  which  could 
Boar  so  lightly— that  delicate  perception,  which  nothing  could  -escape— that  wide 
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